Guyana Times - Sunday, December 4, 2022

BRIDGE OPENINGS

Sunday,

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Sunday,

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

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After a year of planning and much anticipation from both local and for eign onlookers, the Government will be moving to begin auc tioning Guyana’s remaining oil blocks offshore within two weeks’ time.

This announcement was made by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, when asked by the me dia on the sidelines of an event on Friday. He informed the me dia that “within two weeks, we’ll launch the auction.”

Last month, the Vice President had disclosed that Government will be auctioning 14 oil blocks before the end of the year, under new conditions which can see the country ben efiting from as high as US$20 million signature bonus and the doubling of royalties and corpo ration taxes.

He had noted too at the time that work will be done to fine-tune the terms of the auc tion, including the new fis cal conditions that will gov ern new oil contracts as well as all future Production Sharing Agreements. On Friday, Jagdeo updated reporters on that pro cess.

“We’re working on a re write… we’re rewriting the en tire PSA. So once that draft is available to us, we’ll share it with the oil companies, with the local private sector and then we’ll work to finalise it and get comments through a public pro cess.”

It was previously reported

Map showing the various oil blocks already in the hands of operators, and the untapped Block C

that the bidding round for the oil blocks would last for about five months and will be open to both local and foreign compa nies, who will have to meet cer tain minimum technical and fi nancial qualifications.

Since the discovery of oil in 2015, the Guyana offshore basin has seen unprecedent ed development, with Guyana setting a new paradigm for ex peditious development of oil and gas resources.

According to S&P Global, “the four- and-a-half-year time frame from discovery to the first production places Guyana first among global deep-water jurisdictions in terms of the av erage time to bring major dis coveries on stream”.

Just last month, the Guyana Government had de

cided to auction 14 oil blocks off shore in the coming months un der new fiscal conditions that can see the country benefiting from as high as a US$20 million signing bonus along with royal ties more than doubling and the imposition of corporation taxes.

Out of these 14 offshore blocks that will be up for auc tion, 11 will be in the shallow area and three in the deep-sea area. These blocks will range from 1000 square kilometres (sq km) to 2000 sq km but with most of the blocks being approx imately 2000 sq km.

In addition, the Guyana Government has also taken a decision to place ring-fenc ing on the contracts instead of the blocks up for auction since those are small. Jagdeo had previously explained that is the

most efficient way to allow the developers to maximise projects within an area.

The auction is expected to attract global interest, al though experts have warned that it is important to balance the PSA’s (Production Sharing Agreement) fiscal terms.

During a recent visit to Guyana, Norwegian consul tancy Rystad Energy Vice President Shreiner Parker not ed that while Guyana will get interests from around the globe when it goes out to auction its oil blocks, getting the financial terms of the blocks right would be very important. He had giv en the example of Brazil.

“In recent years, they’ve had unsuccessful bid rounds. Even though Brazil is an ex tremely important source of off shore production globally, they were unable to attract the inter est that it wanted, because the fiscal regimes were too onerous. And they were asking for too much.”

“So, the balance that Guyana will have to strike on these new blocks is understand ing that we’re no longer going to have the Stabroek fiscal re gime. We are a petroleum prov ince. Yet at the same time, we cannot expect that it’s a guar anteed success and that every hole poked into the ground will produce oil. So, getting that fis cal regime correct is going to be paramount to attracting inter est globally,” Parker had said.

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Editor: Tusika Martin

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India’s opportunity in G20

Prime Minister Modi of India has made some bold statements upon his ascension to the Chairmanship of G20, which accounts for two-thirds of the global population, 85% of the world's economic output, and 75% of world trade. While the position is rotated annually among the 20 leaders, it offers a platform at a critical inflection point in world history merely by being able to set the agenda for the meetings during its tenure. PM Modi has already declared that the agenda would be “ambitious, action-oriented and decisive”, and would include promoting environment-friendly lifestyles and “depoliticisation” of the global supply chain of food, fertilisers and medical products, which will remain priorities.

Reflecting India’s ancient philosophy, which is thousands of years old, Modi announced that the theme of his chairmanship is 'One Earth, One Family, One Future’, based on the Sanskrit Upanishadic aphorism Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – the World is One Family. In that philosophy, the “world” includes all living beings and the world itself. As such, global warming and its consequent climate change, which are demonstrating the devastation that could threaten the very existence of that world, would loom large in the coming year. According to Modi, “Today, the greatest challenges we face – climate change, terrorism, and pandemics – can be solved not by fighting each other, but only by acting together.”

In a statement published as an editorial in the Indian newspapers, Modi stated that he views his remit as going far beyond the exclusive G20 conclave. “Our G20 priorities will be shaped in consultation with not just our G20 partners, but also our fellow travellers in the global South, whose voice often goes unheard.” This should be good news for smaller countries like ours in the Caribbean, whose concerns are usually brushed aside, as G20 usually focuses on global financial challenges.

Last month, India played a major role in having the U.N. adopt a specific fund to help poorer countries pay for the “loss and damage” from a climate crisis they did little to cause. The details of this fund should be high on the G20 agenda during Modi’s presidency, even as he has argued that “loss and damage” compensation is only a salve. Like other “South” leaders, he has called for US$1 trillion annually to fund decarbonisation projects in the developing world. In 2015, at the Paris UNCCC, the rich countries had committed to spending $100 billion per year by 2020 — and to increase that annually through 2025. They never achieved that goal.

Representing India, which will soon surpass China as the most populous country in the world, Modi would be certain to receive strong backing from the G20 institutional “Troika”, which comprises the incumbent president’s immediate predecessor and successor, to ensure continuity. Fortuitously, this coming year, India will be joined by its predecessor, Indonesia, and its successor, Brazil. Lula has already said, “The world has changed. Continents want to be represented…The world needs new global governance on the climate issue.”

The War in Ukraine would also inevitably be on the G20 radar, and Modi can play an important role, since, up to now, he has resisted being drawn into giving support to any “side”. India has yet to remain very close to the Western countries, and, from this perspective, has a good opportunity to become a conduit for the global South, which has not reflexively supported the West on the sanctions they have imposed on Russia. With India having its own challenges with China, Modi would obviously be forced to tread a very narrow path as the tensions between the latter mount with the US, as China will soon displace the US as the number one economy.

Finally, with India facing its own internal challenges in dealing with energy supplies, to lift a large percentage of its population out of poverty while championing Global Warming mitigation efforts, Modi’s own domestic policies would be relevant to large swaths of the erstwhile “Third World” – including Guyana – that also face such challenges.

India’s G20 priorities: of inclusive, equitable and sustainable growth; women’s empowerment; digital public infrastructure, and tech-enabled development; climate financing; global food security, and energy security, resonate.

While CoI is shaming PNC, GECOM must cleanse itself of all associated rogue elements

Dear Editor,

The ongoing Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the de bacle surrounding the true results of the 2020 National and Regional Elections has already confirmed startling positions.

The evidence-driven in terrogation of the relevant issues will remove the cover from all involved openly and from behind-the-scenes. Following the trend of PNC politics, increased diver sion tactics will be used in an attempt to deflect atten tion from the crooks. Aside from the flagrant abuse by contaminated officials within the Secretariat of the then Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the freedom of testimony ap proach so far has exposed the numerous parts of the blatant plot in the attempts by the PNC and its cabal to steal the power to govern after losing the elections.

Notably, GECOM has been very transparent and thorough in its preparation for these upcoming Local Government Elections (LGEs). While the process disappointingly took extra time, we must accept the harsh reality that due pro cess took place within an in clusive environment which allowed full participation by all political parties. The necessary public notices were timely, and sufficient

ly instructive to allow po litical parties to take part in a meaningful way in the continuous registration ex ercises, and their repre sentatives were continual ly active during the claims and objections process.

Further, the two main political parties have per manent scrutineers at the 29 well established GECOM offices across the country, and are provided with updates concerning each transaction as they oc cur. The intent is to ensure that all stakeholders have a point and period of valida tion from which their objec tions could be raised before arriving at the final list for the elections. Hence, it is ra tional for one to accept that GECOM, operating with in the legal framework, has allowed inclusiveness and time to the public, and the political parties in particu lar, concerning the process for arriving at the Official List of Voters for the hold ing of the LGEs, fulfilling the opportunity for appro priate vetting.

It has recently come to the attention of the public that the PNC are attempt ing to conjure another de laying tactic to prevent the GECOM from running off the LGEs. I refer to the re cently filed fixed-date appli cation by known PNC activ ist Carol Joseph, which is

nothing but another frivo lous attempt at abusing our legal system. I will not be sub-judice in this respect by advancing pre-emptive po sitions before the rulings of the court, but will urge the general public to take note of the suppressive in terventions that are being advanced from the hornets’ nest.

Editor, there are still some things to be fixed that will lend to accept able parity in the Local Government setting. The PNC cannot deny the fact that the gerrymandering of several ‘District’ bound aries was done by them to provide perceived advan tages. It was the APNU/ AFC who hurriedly went into Parliament in 2015, even before the PPP/C took up their seats, and changed the law to make sure that ‘Continuous Registration’ gives legitimacy to the List for six months.

All of the “red herrings” about the PNCR being un happy about the response to some elections’ issues are only an attempt by the cowards to make noise be fore their humiliation at the 2023 LGEs. Recently, Hon. Nigel Dharamlall, the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, held excep tionally good consulta tive discussions around

the country concerning the boundaries of constituen cies. These resulted in the corrective changes to cer tain boundaries, made via Order No. 44 of 2022, and published in the Official Gazette.

Guyanese must be pre pared to take on the chal lenge and be more proactive at the various levels of our democracy. With all of the developments taking place at the national level, our people of all walks of life must be prepared to work in unity at the local govern ment level for the further development of our country.

Parallel development across the wider spectrum for the benefit of all needs to have candidates contest ing the LGEs. Those should include religious and busi ness leaders, be gender-bal anced, and include youths and professionals. Such in clusiveness would bring re spectability to the newly elected officials.

GECOM must move ahead and ensure the prop er cleansing of all clandes tine rogue elements, and not allow the cowards who are afraid to face the LGEs to further slow the process. Let us have the LGEs now.

Sincerely, Neil Kumar

President Dr Irfaan Ali and Heads of the Joint Services attended the opening of the ‘One Guyana’ Christmas Village on Main Street, Georgetown on Friday evening

Exxon considering purchasing carbon credits – Country Manager

United States oil gi ant ExxonMobil could soon follow its Stabroek Block partner Hess Corporation in buy ing Guyana’s “high-quality” carbon credits as part of its commitments to climate ac tion.

This is according to ExxonMobil Guyana President, Alistair Routledge, following the signing of a historic US$750 million deal on Friday by the Guyana Government for the sale of over 33 mil lion certified carbon credits to Hess Corp.

Routledge told reporters that trading carbon credits is among the options being considered by the oil major in its efforts to manage cli mate change.

“This is great news for Guyana. ExxonMobil is looking at lots of different ways to manage climate change and this [trading of carbon credits] is always go ing to be one of the consid erations,” he related.

Asked whether any dis cussions have already started in this regard with Guyanese authorities, Routledge indicated he “can’t comment on anything that’s in the future.”

Meanwhile, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, who led Guyana’s negotia tions with Hess, stated on Friday that there are sev eral proposals being put forward but Government wants to wait before strik ing another deal to allow for

much more favourable mar ket conditions for Guyana.

In a July 2022 prog ress report on Advancing Climate Solutions, the USbased ExxonMobil said it aims to achieve net-zero emissions from its operat ing assets by 2050 and is taking a comprehensive ap proach centred on develop ing detailed emission-re duction roadmaps for major operating assets.

This ambition applies to Scope 1 and Scope 2 green house gas emissions. It builds on the oil company’s 2030 emission-reduction plans, which include plans to reach net-zero emissions in its Permian Basin un conventional operations by 2030, and ongoing invest ments in lower-emission solutions, including carbon capture and storage, hydro gen, and biofuels.

“The company’s roadmap approach identifies green house gas emission-re duction opportunities and the investment and policy needs required to achieve net-zero. The roadmaps are tailored to account for facil ity configuration and main tenance schedules, and they will be updated as technol ogies and policies evolve. Net-zero roadmaps for ma jor assets are ahead of schedule and expected to be completed by year-end 2022,” the report detailed.

As the operator of the oil-rich Stabroek Block, ExxonMobil, through its local subsidiary Esso

Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), along with its co-ventur ers Hess and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited begun producing oil off shore in December 2019. There are currently two floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) ves sels pumping oil.

However, the US oil major envisions about 10 FPSOs operating in the Stabroek Block, where over 30 discoveries have been made since 2015, amount ing to more than 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

During his remarks at Friday’s sale agree ment signing with Hess, VP Jagdeo contended that there is no conflict in Guyana continuing to ex tract its fossil fuel resourc es with the country’s cli mate objectives.

“We support net-ze ro. We support early de carbonisation. We support the removal of subsidiaries

Community centres are indeed needed in Guyana

Dear Editor,

It is a given that communi ty centres, village halls and oth er local venues are at the heart of many communities. So, who can complain when it comes to the Sophia Community Centre project? I guess no one.

I can feel the positive vibes already as the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development just signed a $13.6 million contract with the North Sophia Community Development Council (CDC), to create its own space in terms of a community centre for those in the area, so that family and friends will get the chance to really connect with one another.

First, let us not trivialise this venture. I remind people that community centres are important hubs across any country, as they provide citi zens with opportunities to so cialise, learn, and access key services. Some may argue that these centres aren’t seen as de sirable places to spend time, but the truth is that they serve a vital function in bringing peo ple together.

No doubt, now more than ever, we’re living in challeng ing times, which require us all

to pull together and offer help, and this is where this Sophia venture will prove of great val ue. Word is that execution of the project will be undertak en solely by members of the community, with supervision from the Local Government Ministry. This alone would help in unifying people and adding that dimension of pride in taking charge.

It gets better, as I see that labour and materials for the project would also be sourced from within the community. This, as we know, is in keep ing with the Government’s re peated commitment to provid ing employment opportunities for all.

Overall, then, it is a winwin situation from beginning to end.

We must keep in mind that the Peoples Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government means business in its effort to bring people together in a most non-discriminatory manner. I get the distinct impression that use of this centre will be maximised for all kinds of co hesive and socialising events in the areas of sports, religion, and recreation etc., and for all ages too.

This is an opportunity for connectivity for people from all walks of life: to demon strate how wonderfully they can all work, play, and just about do anything together. After all, the ‘One Guyana’ theme is about gelling race, age, gender, class, education, and other protected charac teristics used in the past to se clude and separate people.

We should follow the President’s lead and value people for their own individ uality, and so socialise to gether, no matter what. I add that community centres are not a new or recent thing. For example, the Blairmont and Skeldon Community Development Centres were dominant in serving educa tional needs at one time, and many sporting heroes origi nated from them and the oth er centres across the country. So, since the Government is all bent on bringing ‘qual ity and unity of life’ to all Guyanese, then I can hard ly wait for all of the existing community centres to be re furbished.

Yours truly,

from fossil fuel production. We support those global ob jectives… but in countries like Guyana, we have to se cure our funding to contin ue to make our contribution to global climate change ob jectives [and to also] secure this country… and develop ing the oil and gas sector can allow us to get the rev enues to fund the billions of dollars of adaption needs

that we have to meet,” he asserted.

Contending that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic Administration is committed to a balanced ap proach to development, the VP pointed out that even with 10 FPSOs operating offshore Guyana, the coun try will still remain carbon negative given its vast pris tine forest resources.

Guyana is home to more than 18 million hectares of forests that are estimated to store approximately 20 billion tonnes of carbon di oxide equivalent.

With the aim of monetis ing this resource, Guyana made history on December 1 by becoming the first coun try to receive certification of over 33 million carbon credits by the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART). That issuance of the REDD+ jurisdictional car bon credits paved the way

for Friday’s signing of the sale agreement with Hess Corp.

This ground-breaking deal will see Hess buying 2.5 million credits per year for the period 2016 and 2032, valuing US$750 mil lion. However, it was ex plained that while the deal is for a 10-year period, that is, 2022 to 2032, the Guyana Government was able to ne gotiate, as part of the sale agreement, for the oil major to also purchase some 12.5 million carbon credits from the period 2016 to 2020 –referred to as “legacy cred it”.

However, these 33.7 million credits being sold to Hess Corp is just 30 per cent of the carbon sink con tained in Guyana’s vast for est cover. The remaining 70 per cent of carbon cred it will be put on the market for future sale agreements.

APNU is a blatant and unashamed election thief

Dear Editor, As the CoI into the March 2020 General and Regional Elections continues, more and more startling revela tions are being unearthed to show us the barefaced at tempt of the APNU party to rig the elections.

I say the APNU because they are the crime partners who are known to be of noto riety in the finer details of rig ging. They have done this for decades now, showing scant regard for this country be coming a pariah for the das tardly deed. Thankfully, this was averted by the rule of law and the quick actions of the international community.

Having said this, I would like to ask the PNC/APNU a few important questions. In the first place, for a party that constantly harps on the subject of a bloated elector al list, I would like them to show us which list Mingo and Lowenfield based their decla ration on, or from which list was their declaration extract ed?

Are they telling us their declaration was made from the same list that they now abhor? Meaning that this list was suddenly transformed into a gloriously clean list, giving a victory to the APNU while, in the same breath, that list was fraudulent and vile enough to exclude the PPP/C party of a victory?

Doesn’t it add up to the proverbial peeing in our eyes and calling it rain? I think it is all of the above. So, the PNC need to stop this non

sensical act of trying to make a fool out of the Guyanese people, thinking that we are ever so stupid that we could not see straight through their evil scheme.

Secondly, in an age of in stant messaging on social and other media fora, one could not evade the fact that every thing was being videoed item by item as the evil saga un folded before our very eyes. There is no hiding from the fact that this party was, to

use the words of the former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, “transparent in the act of electoral rigging.”

I cry shame on that par ty and all those involved in this reprehensible act. I am also crying out for justice, full and complete, for all those in volved. Never again should such an atrocity grace our shores, ever!

Respectfully, Neil Adams

ExxonMobil President Alistair Routledge

FURTHER CONSIDERATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE OVERZEALOUS BARKER

Irecognize that an inor dinate amount of time and column space are being expended on this sub ject of dogs which are exces sive barkers. Bear with us. If you ever had to endure sleep less nights, or days when you thought you would go cra zy because of relentless ca nine barking, or if you are the owner of a pet dog whose unceasing barking seems be yond your control, and this is leading towards acrimony between yourself and neigh bours, then it becomes un derstandable that all possi ble practical solutions must be attempted until success is achieved; not lastly because the condition could inexora bly lead to – horror of hor rors – the sad finale of stray ing the dog, a fatal attack on your dog from an angry neighbour, or even euthana sia.

ment of the dog in a kennel, or the semi-permanent ty ing of the animal to a stake in the yard, then the prob lem can, in all likelihood, be resolved by:

* Just taking the leashed dog for frequent walks;

* Giving the dog opportu nities to run around and play in the yard;

must be done at a fast pace. Take some water with you to rehydrate your dog, especially if you notice it panting.

Last week I mentioned that pet toys that rouse the dog’s natural curiosity could also provide hours of distrac tion and exercise (particular ly for dogs kept indoors).

cally with this barking prob lematic.

The following represents a partial summary of the ad vice documented in the pre vious two “Pet Care” col umns and an extract from an advisory suggested by Cote and Cohn on the overzealous barking phenomenon:

* Identify triggers, and limit exposure to them when ever possible.

* When barking occurs, redirect the dog’s atten tion and activity to alter native behaviours (play, re laxation), and reward for compliance: use a leash or head collar if necessary; re ward all decreases in bark ing.

havioural disorder (e.g., anx iety); consider referral to a behaviour specialist.

identified and manipulated (e.g., Pet Tutor [https://smar tanimaltraining.com]).

Last week, we mentioned that once the cause of the problem is accurately identi fied, the caregiver is on his/ her way to fully instituting the antidote for the inces sant barking. For example, if the abnormal barking stems from a continuous imprison

* Taking the dog for drives;

* Allowing the dog to ac company the caregiver on his/her bicycle rides;

Taking the dog for drives I emhasise that the walk/ bike trips must not be for long distances, and

If the barking has be come pathological, then the anxiety state that has led to the abnormal vocalization must be treated by the dog’s caregiver, preferably un der advice of a veterinarian or a competent and reliable source of knowledge (an ad visory) deal ing specifi

* A neutral distraction (e.g., bouncing ball/toy, play ing music, allowing the ani mal to watch television) may be used for interrupting the behaviour, followed by pos itive engagement in a dif ferent, non-barking-related undertaking that can be re warded.

* Treatment with psy chotropic medication is ap propriate only if barking is a manifestation of a be

* Punishment, yelling, and use of shock collars should be avoided. Aversive and aggressive methodolo gies serve only to increase, rather than decrease, arous al, and may exacerbate the barking behaviour.

* Dogs should be taught to relax while making eye contact with the clients as a preferred default/substitute behaviour, when the dog en counters a situation about which it is anxious or unsure.

* Systematic desensitiza tion can be used if the trig gers can be

* As alternative alert should be taught, so the dog still signals information (e.g., sitting in a designat ed spot or in front of the cli ents).

I promise that we will shortly conclude this topic. It has been exhausting for both the writer and the care giver, yet important enough for readers to request fur ther knowledge, not lastly answers to questions relat ing to drug usage and inter actions, possible complica tions, usage of shock collars; and yes, the success rate and prognosis.

Private Sector bodies laud Govt for historic carbon credit agreement

The Government of Guyana has come in for praise from the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEG), for Friday’s sign ing of a historic agreement with Hess for the oil compa ny to purchase 2.5 million carbon credits annually from Guyana.

According to the PSC in its statement, the Government of Guyana is to be commend ed on its visionary leader ship which has resulted in Guyana becoming the first country to be issued carbon credits for successfully pre venting forest loss and degra dation under the REDD+ ini tiative.

“The Commission strong ly believes that the deal signed on December 2, 2022, between the Government and Hess Corporation for Guyana to be paid a mini mum of US$750 million be tween 2016 and 2030, is a demonstration of Guyana’s commitment towards global climate action.”

“Importantly, the deal shows what corporations like Hess, a partner in the Stabroek Block Offshore Guyana, can do to demon strate leadership and action in the fight against climate change,” the PSC also noted.

According to the PSC, it is envisioned that the funds to be provided from this his toric agreement will go a long way towards realising the objectives outlined in the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 (LCDS).

GOGEC Meanwhile, GOGEC in its statement also com mended the Government for this agreement, which will net Guyana US$750 million. GOGEC President Manniram Prashad noted that even though Guyana’s oil production will reach 1 million barrels per day by

2030, the country will still enjoy the benefits of its net negative carbon emissions.

“In a broader framework, to move towards climate re silience, countries would need to design disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation strategies. The objective in so doing is to build climate-resilient econ omies while simultaneously developing creative financ ing solutions over the long term to be able to adequately respond to the financial and economic damages whenev er such risks occur in mem ber states.”

According to Prashad, Guyana’s expanded Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) framework and now this innovative car bon credit model, demon strates the Government’s stewardship in successfully leading in these respects.

He noted that LCDS 2030 sets out the vision for a low-carbon economy through

low-carbon energy, employ ment and development op portunities, and investment in adapting to the impacts of climate change.

“The average annu al weather-related disas ter losses in the last five to ten years in “low” and “low er-middle” income countries have reached US$1.3 billion and US$6.8 billion, respec tively,” Prashad said.

“Climate impacts under mine resilience and the ca pacity to recover and absorb losses from these events, es pecially that of poorer coun tries and their citizens, by reducing their agricultural productivity, weakening wa ter and food security, increas ing the incidence of diseases, and threatening the existing infrastructure, economic pro ductivity, and value chains.”

In light of all the climate change impacts, the GOGEC President noted that more focus is needed on the more vulnerable groups who are

the victims suffering the most from the wrath of such catastrophes.

“This should not only be limited to sustainable devel opment work to lift people out of poverty by economic empowerment through ed ucation, but countries also must divert investment into building climate resilient in frastructure,” he said.

FITUG

Congratulations were also extended to the Government by the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), which noted that Guyana is once again on the forefront of en vironmental protection and mitigation of the existential challenges posed by climate

change.

“As a patriotic organi sation, we see, the agree ment inked with the Hess Corporation as yet another milestone in our long-stand ing efforts to preserve our forests to the benefit of the world’s people. The unlock ing of further resources for national development, with a substantial sum directed to our first people is yet another reason for the Federation to be optimistic for the future.”

“The FITUG having par ticipated in the delibera tions on the Low Carbon Development Strategy in its present and past incar nations, is of the firm belief, that the strategy offers our people a roadmap for the fu ture which balances our de

velopment ambitions and our environment,” the trade union organisation said.

In their statement, FITUG lamented what they termed as valuable time lost between 2015 and 2020, the time the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) was in power and noted that Guyana’s efforts could have been even more advanced. However, they urged the Government to continue making up for lost time.

Carbon credits

Under the terms of the agreement signed with Hess, Guyana will be sell ing approximately 30 per cent of its total forest cred its. Payments, which will amount to at least US$750 million, will be made from 2022 to 2032. The first pay ment itself, US$75 million, is due by this year-end.

The credits are divid ed into legacy credits from 2016 to 2020, which will see Guyana receiving at least US$187.5 million, as well as credits from 2021 to 2025 that will result in at least US$250 million in payments and credits from 2026 to 2030, for which Guyana will receive at least US$312.5 million.

The three tranches of pay ments will be at unit pric es of US$15, US$20, and US$25 per ton, respectively.

According to the agreement, if prices go above the respec tive market price for that year, Hess will pay 60 per cent of the price difference at the higher market price. And as per the LCDS 2030, 15 per cent of all carbon credit earn ings will go to Amerindian communities.

The carbon sale agreement between Permanent Secretary of the Office of the President, Abena Moore, and HESS Corp CEO John Hess, was signed while President Dr Irfaan Ali, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and Prime Minister Mark Phillips looked on

Chinese Embassy hands over flood relief materials to CDC

In a demonstration of the strong, cordial re lationship between the People’s Republic of China and Guyana, the Chinese Embassy on Friday hand ed over US$20,000 worth of flood relief materials to the Civil Defence Commission (CDC).

The simple handing-over ceremony was held at the headquarters of the CDC on Thomas Lands.

The Ambassador of China to Guyana, Guo Haiyan, commended the hard work of the CDC in protecting lives and property and said that China prioritises disas ter relief and disaster risk reduction.

She said, “Disaster pre vention and relief is an eter nal subject of human surviv al and development.”

Further, the Ambassador noted that China is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world and as such, is passionate about developing and maintaining

disaster relief and mitiga tion strategies.

“China attaches great importance to disaster risk reduction, coordinating se curity responses to all kinds of disasters with all our ef forts.

“China upholds the vision of a common, comprehen

sive, cooperative and sus tainable vision of security. We are willing to work with other countries to respond to global security challenges. Caribbean countries, includ ing Guyana, are also vulner able to natural disasters.”

Moreover, Ambassador Haiyan pledged China’s con

tinuous support and part nership in disaster mitiga tion efforts.

“China is ready to strengthen operations with Guyana in disaster manage ment, prevention and miti gation. We know that for a long time, Guyanese people have demonstrated strength and efficiency in responding to natural disasters, and we hope that the Guyanese peo ple continue to win in the face of future challenges. At the same time, China will always be your reliable part ner and trustworthy friend,” she assured.

Accepting the materi als on behalf of the CDC, Director General Colonel Nazrul Hussain expressed gratitude to the Embassy and affirmed that the part nership between Guyana and China remains firm.

Earlier this year, China also donated some US$50,000 to facilitate di saster response country wide.

Scrapping…

…LGE?

Well, Khemraj Ramjattan must’ve jumped into the air and clicked his heels at the news that the PNC had filed an action in the High Court: for a declaration that the Local Government Elections scheduled for March 13 shouldn’t be held!! And why, pray tell?? Seems the Chief Scrutineer of the PNC –the very feisty Carol Joseph from Reg 5 – prayed (like the legal folks say) on a plethora of grounds. Just to mention one, there’s the claim that the preparation of the voters’ list wasn’t done in accordance with the applicable law. Your Eyewitness will spare you, dear readers, the tedious statement of all the sections and sub-sections of ROPA she invoked!!

Then, for good measure, she also contended that the Register of Voters – from which the Preliminary List of electors is extracted - wasn’t compiled properly. This is really asking the Courts, through the back door, to order house-to-house registration to create a new voters’ list!! How many ways can you try to delay the inevitable?? Looks like the answer - if you’re the PNC –is to pull one rabbit after another from a hat till the fat lady sings!! Which, as indicated above, is March 13!!

But your Eyewitness thinks – to use that phrase that’s now de rigueur when talking about the PNC’s subterfuges – this confounded nonsense gotta stop. Elections are the gatekeepers of democratic governance, and their procedures shouldn’t be reduced to a travesty. The Courts have the discretion of declaring these cases “vexatious” and “frivolous”, and applying sanctions of the litigant – here, the pugnacious Carol Joseph!!

But like boxing legend the Brown Bomber Joe Louis once told Billy Cohn before an impending fight, “You can run, but you can’t hide!” Just as the ring is a circumscribed space, so is an election in time. Come March 13, if the PNC don’t participate in the LGE, they can kiss goodbye to even the little influence they have at the Municipal and NDC levels because of their traditional constituency. Who would then throw their bodies in front of gates and doors to futilely try to stop the PPP juggernaut??

But the PNC fully well know what’s in store for them if they go down the road of not contesting the LGE - oblivion. Hence, unlike the AFC, which are already “Dead Meat” – they’ve submitted the symbol to GECOM that they’ll use in the elections. They know that all their huffing and puffing ain’t stopping no LGE – but they’re just “tryin’ a t’ing”!! And it’s because of this, more than anything else, that the Courts should slap them down real hard. If the courts do not, the PNC’s cynicism would percolate into ordinary folks, and the next think you know, they’ll move from disobeying traffic Police ranks to killing their own family members. But hold it!! We’re there already!!

…morality?

Believe it or not, the dominant view of those who’re supposed to dispense justice to ‘we, the people’, is that there ain’t no morality in the law!! And so we shouldn’t get too outraged at some of the actions that pass muster nowadays. Take the case of those Carbon Credits we were allocated two days ago. As somebody put it, it’s tantamount to paying someone to not smoke, so you can keep on smoking!!

Now, my virtuous behaviour shouldn’t have anything to do with you sinning, should it?? The bottom line is: if smoking’s a bad thing for the people around us, no one should be allowed to smoke!! It’s immoral for those with money to literally get away with murder. But since the law allows it, Guyana would be foolish not to go along and at least benefit our poor citizens who’re mired in poverty??

While some might say that we must stand for principle – we gotta be pragmatic.

…work ethics?

From time immemorial, it has been literally beaten into us that we should enjoy only that which we worked for. So, the thought of just doling out oil money to folks just for staying at home is difficult to digest.

Colonel Nazrul Hussain receiving the supplies from Chinese Ambassador to Guyana Guo Haiyan

84 Bare Root residents get land titles after 20 years

After more than twenty years of waiting, the first 84 families of Former Parcel 914, Bachelors Adventure (Bare Root), East Coast Demerara are now in pos session of the legal docu mentation for their lands.

The Certificates of Title were handed over by the Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues at a community engagement on Friday, in keeping with a promise made to the resi dents in October 2022.

It was shared that the ownership documents will bring empowerment to the beneficiaries, as it pro vides a sense of protec

tion. This can also be used at financial institutions to help persons enhance their homes or even launch a small business.

Despite the fact that families were unable to pay the transaction fees, the Ministry took an extra step to still process the docu ments so that each person can close that chapter of their lives. As such, they were given the opportunity to make the necessary pay ments through their pre ferred medium.

“We want to ensure that we uplift all the citizens in our country and that all the services we deliv er to you touch your lives in a real way...By process

ing your title, even without the full payment, we are saying that we are commit ted to you, we want to en sure that you can obtain your own documents and we will work with you,” the Minister assured residents.

The area, which was regularised, is divid ed into 312 lots. A sur vey was completed by the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) in 2004. Due to omissions of parcel numbers, bearings and incorrect acreages, re surveys were done in 2009 and 2017. In June 2022, a final survey was completed to rectify discrepancies and former Parcel 914 was ver ified by CH&PA. Although

some lot numbers remain the same, the acreage and lot numbers of others have changed.

Minister Rodrigues has further committed to deliv ering the remaining land ownership documents. She, therefore, urged the co operation of residents to make the process a success.

During the event, a mother of four, Olivia McAllister, who attend ed the meeting in October to raise her housing con cern, returned with a tes timonial. She applied for a house lot more than eight years ago but was unable to receive an allo cation. Through Minister Rodrigues’ intervention, she received a house lot in November that will trans

form the lives of her chil dren.

“The area that I live in is not somewhere I want my kids to grow up in, es pecially [because] I have three boys and it’s not where I want. And the fact that I have been given land that I can build a home and give them somewhere to grow in an area that is very much comfortable for them really pleases and warms my heart,” McAllister ex plained.

Additionally, the Ministry of Housing and Water, through CH&PA al located a number of house lots to residents of Bare Root with outstanding ap plications at the event. This is also in keeping with a commitment made by the

Minister during her previ ous visit.

Several interven tions are also in-line for Bachelors Adventure such as $407 million in road re habilitation, and the con struction of a US$7.8 mil lion (GY$1.5 billion) water treatment plant that will serve communities from Coldingen to Nabaclis, East Coast Demerara.

“We want wholesome communities and that is why the Ministry of Housing, the Government of Guyana, and the President of Guyana are committed to building these communities and building a One Guyana, where our people can be happy,” said Minister Rodrigues.

Minister Rodrigues handing over the title document to a resident

Persons being assisted with their documents by CH&PA officials

US, Global Fragility and Guyana

There have been widespread comments on the role of the US before and after 2020; they range from Opposition elements accusing the US of “installing the illegal PPP cabal in office” to Government supporters calling for the erection of a statue of Ambassador Sara-Ann Lynch for “saving democracy in Guyana”.

The US has long played an outsized role in Guyana, starting with establishing the Arbitral Panel of 1899 that conclusively established the GuyanaVenezuelan Border. The rationale of the US has been to remind Britain of their 1923 Monroe Doctrine, which declared their preeminence in this hemisphere against European ambitions and established a precedent for their interventions.

We fast-forward to the 1960s, when the US intervened here for strategic ideological reasons in their Cold War against the USSR. Both powers have used the poorer countries as proxies for their competition. That ended in 1988, and left the US as the sole superpower left standing, but not for long.

By then the Middle East had become a new flashpoint over oil, which morphed into a “clash of civilizations”, with interventions from North Africa to Afghanistan, even as they turned to China as a source of cheap labour and transformed them into a contending economic and military competitor.

After spending several trillion dollars, and suffering tens of thousands of deaths while inflicting hundreds of thousands on “others”, the string of failures in those theatres precipitated some intense soul-searching within the US Government. A new strategy abjuring the previous reactive approach was conceptualized by 2018 for “projecting US soft power”. The enabling legislation –The Global Fragility Act - was passed with bipartisan support in late 2019 by the outgoing Trump Administration and adopted by the incoming Biden Administration in 2020. It defines “fragile states” as those “where state weakness or failure would magnify threats to the American homeland.” The Biden Administration then submitted to Congress “the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability (which) conceives an integrated, evidencebased, prevention-focused, coherent and field-driven approach to address drivers of fragility that can threaten U.S. national security and ultimately cost millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars.”

The administration was supposed to identify five “fragile” countries to launch the strategy over a ten-year period with an annual US$230 million funding. They would serve as templates for “prevention-focused” and “field driven” (read the local Ambassador) activities in other countries.

Finally, in April of this year, it named Haiti, Libya, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, and a grouping of five Coastal West African countries (Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, and Togo). Pres Biden issued a letter on the implementation:

“Our diplomats, officers, and experts in the State Department, USAID, Department of Defence, Department of the Treasury, and others across Government, as well as members of the Foreign Service and Armed Forces, will work in close cooperation with multilateral organizations and a wide variety of local partners in each nation where these efforts will be pursued — including civil society organizations, community leaders, businesses, and Government officials. Those who are closest and most vulnerable to these challenges know best where the opportunities for peace and stability lie…and we must support their strength and resilience.”

We note the coordination of all the US institutions that used to work separately, and the stress on working with “local partners” in target nations, which would necessarily involve the local Ambassador and the open desiderata for action. There is presently a delay in implementation in the identified countries because two key Congressmen disagree with Haiti and Libya being placed on top of the list of five. They argue that the leadership there is too “fragile” for successful interventions. In the Alliance for Peacebuilding “Fragile State index”, the five fragile countries are in the red “alert” category, while Guyana is in yellow “warning”.

We should now understand the US Ambassador’s wide local engagements, and her and Secretary of State Blinken’s caution for “transparency, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility”.

In her July 4th remarks, she said, “So, we’re encouraging them (the Government) to focus on efforts that will create sustainable growth for the entire country, no matter ethnicity, no matter race, no matter gender, and no matter geography.” Her remarks invoke the “evidence-based” approach that demands empirical data such as the “ethnic impact statements” we have called for since 1990, which address our most salient cleavage. While some may want to avoid race and ethnicity, the US doesn’t. “If men define their situation as real; they are real in their consequences”.

Ravi Dev

Twenty-four-year-old Nicholas Alphonso is an up-and-com ing musical sensation who grew up with his parents and five siblings in the com munity of Henrietta on the Essequibo Coast in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam). He attended the CV Nunes Primary School before being awarded a place at the Anna Regina Multilateral School after writing the National Grade Six Assessment

(NGSA) examinations. He completed his secondary education by sitting eight subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and being successful in all, obtaining distinctions in the math and business results.

Nicholas hails from a fam ily which, although not hav ing a musical background, loves music. At an early age, he took a decision to learn to play the guitar, but did not

own one, and, as such, asked his father to purchase one for him. At that time, his fam ily was trying to make ends meet, and he had to make a critical decision to forego ei ther the bike he had been begging for for over five years or the guitar. He chose to re ceive the guitar, which meant he had to walk to school.

Having obtained the gui

he started writing - many of which he has no idea from whence they came. Most of the songs he wrote at that time were Rap and Hip-Hop, but since 2020, he has start ed to compose Dancehall/ Reggae lyrics.

To date, Alphonso has written and recorded about 200 songs, and remains open to suggestions and feedback.

tar, he had no idea how to use it, since he had no access to music teachers or personal internet service at his home, and he never had money to use the nearby internet café. He later met a guitarist at a church camp, and that per son was generous enough to show him how to play at least four chords. Overly excited, he went home and started to practice, and eventually mas tered the technique. He then used his lunch money to print two pages of guitar chords, and kept practising at home.

He practised until his fin gers literally bled, and in the end it was worth the while. He eventually learned to play the guitar, and with that came an awesome feeling. Although the guitar is not the only instrument he plays cur rently, he would love to play the saxophone.

Alphonso writes his own music. In fact, he has written about a thousand songs since

Moreso, he is willing to meet other writers to create some thing even more amazing.

His target audience is pri marily the youth, but almost everyone can relate to his songs, because he tries to ca ter to any age, gender, race, ethnicity, or background.

“I try to make my topics as broad as possible, so any one can relate. But, at the same time, I truly hope the youths pay more attention to the messages in my piec es. I feel this generation is lost. Everybody thinks they have it the worst, and people tend to want to give up when they feel like life is unfair to them”, Alphonso told Sunday Times.

He explained that the purpose of most of his songs is to show the youths that he and many others have gone through rough patches in life, but, with perseverance, have overcome the challenges.

Nicholas and his siblings

Nicholas Alphonso

By AlvA Solomon

If you ask Victor Captain how he became involved in the arts, he may tell you it is a long story. But one thing he will surely mention is his love for the field and those persons who inspired him to become a renowned Rupununi artist.

Captain, who hails from the rich cultural communi ty of Surama in the North Rupununi, has been a profes sional artist for more than a decade. According to him, he started out by drawing with pencils during his days at the Annai Secondary School.

“Prior to meeting George Simon, I used to do pencil drawings. And during that time, I was in secondary school and I learned to do drawings

there,” he said.

Captain said he met the late exceptional artist Dr. Simon in 2009, when the lat ter introduced the “Moving Circle of Artists” to Surama, and Dr Simon had asked him if he was interested in paint ing. And after his affirmation, he decided to pursue the field.

“From there on, I took one step forward and tried to do my best,” Captain said. Most of Captain’s paintings are based on his deep-rooted sense of understanding of his cul ture, shamanism, and stories about the Amerindian people.

Captain said that in 2010 or 2011, he participated in an art exhibition during the Rupununi Music and Art Festival held at the Rock View Lodge at Annai. His paint ings were well received by

the participants and visitors, and this encouraged him to undertake more paintings as he developed his skill in the field. And as his reputation continued to evolve, Captain said, he received a major boost in 2015, when his paint ings were introduced to the United States while he par ticipated in art exhibitions in Virginia. His two paint ings were placed on display at the University of Virginia and at the Commonwealth Senior Living Quarters in Hampton, Virginia respective ly. His paintings were well re ceived and he was even fea tured in C-VILLE Weekly, one of Charlottesville’s lead ing newspapers.

“Most of the Amerindian people, they’re losing their culture. And I am one, so it’s

the loss of my language,” he told the newspaper. “What I’m really trying to do is keep the culture going, but in art form. The stories and other things, people forget the sto ries and pretend they are not Amerindian; they want to be someone else,” he declared.

He told Guyana Times that he has switched from can vas painting to paddle paint

ing. “The difference is can vas painting is much easier to paint on because it is sim ilar to cloth. But the paddles are made out of wood materi als, which makes it a little dif ficult,” he said. He noted that he is honing his skills in the paddles, so that he can master more methods of painting.

These days, Captain has settled in the tourism-rich

community of Rewa, and he noted that he has blended in terms of transitioning to live in that community. He told Guyana Times that he has lived at Rewa for the past five years after marriage. He said he plans to pursue teaching, and it is one method he is pos itive about in terms of passing on his skills in the arts to the younger generation.

Artist Victor Captain displaying some of his paddle paintings this week

One of Victor Captain’s prized paintings, entitled “Tears of Awarmie”, was on display during an exhibition in 2020 (Photo credit: Keri Phang)

Nicholas Alphonso: Essequibo’s budding...

He says, “If we did, then you (listeners) can too.”

Alphonso is currently working on some different genres of music. “I am work ing on some songs in the girls’ song arena, some in the party songs' arena, and these were songs I would not have thought of doing before, due to the vulgari ty they seem to encourage. But I'm trying to acquire my own style of writing to those types of songs; so, hopeful ly, I can keep the same vibe without sacrificing my views and personal preferences.”

One of his hits, "Born Great", which became a hit during the pandemic, was heard by a live audience when he performed it at the “One Guyana” Concert at the Guyana National Stadium back in 2021. While that experience was phenomenal, he was never again given opportunity to perform, but has done so at private events and parties in opportunities for which he is

grateful.

He maintains that he has a passion for writing. “I love the different voic es and the melodies and in strumentals and all that, but for me it's more about the writing. I love poetry writing. I love hearing art ists express themselves and their thoughts in lyrics, and (I love) the way they word

their songs.”

From a young age, Alphonso has been admir ing several renowned art ists/songwriters, including Hozier, Ed-Sheeran, Adele, Eminem, Russ, Royce da 5'9, Jay-Z, Vybz Kartel, Alkaline, and some others.

“If I had a chance to per form with any artiste in the world, I would not be able to

decide. Honestly. There are so many artists that if I get to perform with, it would mean the world to me. I just have a love for music as art, I can't choose one par ticular artiste over anoth er. Like how do you choose between a Picasso painting and a Shakespeare sonnet? They're both completely dif ferent artistes in completely different fields, but brilliant just the same,” he explained.

Nevertheless, he recalled the best advice given by an other musician was to keep creating music. “Keep writ ing, keep recording. That was from one of our very own local performers way before the hype and attention that the Guyana music industry is getting now. That was ad vice from "cKush."

In the same breath, he advises youths to invest in themselves and their craft. He explained that no one cares about you unless you have a hit song or something to grab attention out here.

“That's the sad truth. You can't find a hit song or gain attention in the music world if you are not creative. And you cannot create if you do not invest. I'm not just talking invest financially in buying your own equipment and such, I'm also speaking of investing time. Make time to learn every aspect of the industry. Learn how to re cord, how to mix and master, how to make beats even,” he has admonished.

“Even if you're not per fect at those things, still learn them. Because when you have to depend on peo ple to do things for you, you will get (outshone) by the guys like me, who invest our time in learning those same things you beg and wait for others to do for you. And that's the hard truth. Because look at most of the artistes that make it, they're poor. And one of the hard est parts of their journey, they will tell you, was find ing money for studio time.

Take that struggle out of the equation, and what do you have? You have the power now to focus on your craft,” Alphonso related.

Meanwhile, he believes that a lot is being done for musicians in Guyana, while adding that critical informa tion needs to be more avail able to everyone. In addition, he feels that there is need for an Artistes’ Registry in Guyana.

“We don't have a regis try of the known artistes in Guyana that are rec ognised by the Government of Guyana. Every other country in the Caribbean has one, and it makes it much easier for musicians to procure visas and such for abroad travels, which will in turn help us to develop our craft more and increase our networking scope,” he said.

On a lighter note, the Essequibian is not mar ried and loves to eat potato roti. His favorite colours are black, grey and white.

Talented artiste Nicholas Alphonso recording one of his tunes

Govt incorporating more technology in health, education services – Pres Ali

says work ongoing to introduce electronic health card

of the historic carbon cred it agreement with Hess on Friday, President Ali spoke of the steps the Government is taking to digitise and en courage more technology. He made mention of a patient care e-card, which would store key medical data and medication history.

port patient care manage ment information systems, that will hold key data for ev ery citizen, that will be close ly integrated with all the in stitutional framework of our country.”

oping specialised services in cardiology and oncology with the private sector. This in cludes the establishment of two centres of excellence – a cardiovascular centre and an oncology centre.

President Dr Irfaan Ali

With its relatively small population, Guyana will have to come up with creative ways to optimise the delivery of service to its citizens. And according to President Dr Irfaan Ali, one such way will be through using technology.

During an address to those gathered for the signing

“We’re a small society. We’re already facing the con straints of a small labour force. As a result of this, our system must be strength ened. We must move to a more electronic, technological platform, to support the re quirement and needs for the growth and development of Guyana,” President Ali said.

“In doing so, we’re ad vancing work on using tech nology as a primary enabler in the delivery of education, and health services, moving on a platform that will see Guyanese having access to an electronic card that will sup

Only in July of this year, the Guyana Government signed a historic partnership deal with New York-based Mount Sinai Health System and Hess Corporation to transform local healthcare into a world-class service that will not only ensure acces sibility and affordability for Guyanese citizens but also the Caribbean Region.

Under this agreement, President Ali rolled out the National Health Care Initiative – a three-compo nent plan that focuses on en hancing the country’s primary healthcare services, improv ing patient care and man agement at the Georgetown Public Hospital and devel

The Head of State has al ready charged the private sector in the local medical field to step up and tap into the opportunities that this project will make available. This National Health Care Initiative is being funded jointly by Guyana and Hess Corporation, which has in jected some US$32 million into the project.

Meanwhile, in addi tion to receiving help from Mount Sinai through this, Government was also able to secure a facility for all Guyanese requiring special ised medical treatment to get a 30 per cent discount once the Health Ministry approves a referral to the NY-based

medical institution.

And as the Guyana Government works to en hance the local healthcare system, President Ali has also reassured workers in this field that better working environments and living con ditions are coming in the fu ture.

The Head of State made this pledge while delivering the feature address at the sod-turning ceremony of the country’s first Specialised Paediatric and Maternal

Hospital at Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara, a few months ago.

President Ali had point ed out that tilling the soil and constructing the build ings is just one component of the transformation that the Government is undertaking in the health sector. He had explained that the other com ponent, which is the hardest part, is making the system work. This, he noted, requires human resources so that the system can be in top shape.

APA calls for Govt’s response, rights to be upheld in Chinese Landing matter

The Amerindian People’s Association (APA) has thrown its support be hind Chinese Landing’s legal claims, that its rights under the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana have been violated.

The Association shared this position after its recent ly concluded Annual General Meeting (AGM), which ad opted several resolutions ac knowledging the need for the recognition, protection, and advancement of Indigenous peoples’ rights in Guyana.

“Among the adopted res olutions is the decision to continue to support Chinese Landing, Isseneru and the Upper Mazaruni communi ties along with those close to the Marudi Mountain in their respective land issues,” a statement read.

Further, the APA ex pressed dissatisfaction with the Government’s failure to timely respond to the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in the case of Isseneru Village, as it pledged continued sup port for Isseneru to secure its collective rights over its cus tomary lands.

The APA added that it is aware that the health, safety, freedom, and qual ity of life of the communi ty of Chinese Landing con tinue to deteriorate rapidly, and ‘exhorts the National Toshaos Council (NTC) to urge the Government to end its inaction towards Chinese Landing under its statutory function and prior commit ments’.

“Similarly, the APA sup ports the communities of the Upper Mazaruni in urg ing the court to deliver its long-overdue judgement and the Wapichan communities of the South Rupununi in op

posing illegal mining in the Marudi Mountain area and their traditional lands broad ly. These lands are the sub ject of extension of title ap plications by the Wapichan communities.”

Back in the 1990s, per mission was given by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to a miner to operate within the boundaries of the village ti tled land. However, the vil lage has been up in arms over this approval, which they said did not have the consent of the Village Council.

When the GGMC had taken steps to issue a Cease Work Order (CWO) to the miner, however, the case had been taken to the High Court, which had ruled in his favour. The High Court decision was subsequently overturned by the Court of Appeal. However, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) re versed this in 2017.

Among UNCERD rec ommendations was for the Government to consider the suspension or revocation of mining concessions affect ing Chinese Landing, until free, prior and informed con sent (FPIC) is granted by the Indigenous people.

They also called on the Government to “refrain from approving projects and grant ing mining permits or con cessions within the lands of Indigenous peoples, wheth er titled or not, without ob taining the free, prior and in formed consent of the affected Indigenous peoples.

The AGM saw members of the Executive Committee, several regional and unit representatives, staff and other invitees gathering in Georgetown last month while some regions appeared virtu ally.

It highlighted more sup port for community capac ity-building programmes and continuing to follow the LCDS implementation pro cess closely.

“Lastly, the APA will advance the call from Indigenous communities throughout Guyana to en sure the Government ful fils its promises to revise the Amerindian Act to ensure effective protection of the rights of Indigenous Peoples

in Guyana. The organisation will support communities in building their capacity to ar ticulate proposed revisions to the Amerindian Act, includ ing by making lawyers avail able to answer community questions and to strength en community understand ing of the law and rights of Indigenous Peoples,” the statement outlined.

Another critical aspect of the AGM was the elec tion of office bearers to the

Committee of Management and the full Executive Committee of the organisa tion who will serve for the 2022/2023 period.

The members of the Committee of Management are President, Lemmel Benson Thomas of Kamarang; VicePresident, Junisha Johnny of St Ignatius; Secretary, David Wilson of Akawini; Treasurer, Earl Thomas of Wakapao; Assistant Secretary, John Campbell of

Little Kanabali/Santa Cruz; Assistant Treasurer, Reynold Hutson of Hotoquai; and Trustees, Raymond Coxall and Dmitri Nicholson, both of Georgetown.

This AGM is a critical component of the APA’s ef forts to promote and main tain organisational transpar ency and accountability and allows the fulfilment of obli gations as a registered organ isation under the Friendly Societies Act.

Leopold St youths to commence training next week

Following a visit by President Irfaan Ali last weekend and a commitment to provide jobs, scores of youths from Leopold Street, Werk-enRust, Georgetown, have registered to undergo skills training next week.

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton informed during a press conference that after the training in block-making is completed, these persons will be employed. This pro gramme is in collaboration with the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).

The Board of Industrial Training is also open for them to acquire specific skills training.

“The intention is to have this programme roll out next week. The idea for all of this is to introduce them to a block-making programme so that they can start earn ing. The commitment from CH&PA is that they will have a buyer that is in volved in the housing pro gramme. For specific train ing, they will enrol in BIT programmes,” Hamilton re

layed.

Some persons who reg istered this week were al ready trained by the Board of Industrial Training. The Ministry will work with these individuals to have them certified.

“Many of them have a skillset so we also have to work with them. More im portantly, to ensure that they can be certified and ac credited because in Guyana we’re developing, just being skilful will not take you any where. You have to be ac credited and certified.”

The Labour Minister added that such engage ment will follow in other communities in the quest to upskill the population.

During the visit, the Head of State informed res idents that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration wants to have young peo ple “actively and positive ly” involved in the develop ment and transformation of Guyana. This way, he ex plained, they too can get op portunities to live a better life.

“We have to ensure that our young people are trained, that our young peo ple are equipped. We have to ensure the women in our so ciety live a more healthy and positive life. We have to en sure that we have the condi tions here that will allow all the children to be in school… I’m here to push this agen da,” the President was quot ed as saying.

In this light, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn was tasked with lead ing a full team to Leopold St, including private sector players who are also looking to recruit people to do weld

ing and fabrication works.

“The Housing Ministry will be here to recruit people because right now we need people in the construction sector. So, the opportuni ties will come and they will come directly in the commu nity to you… This is your op portunity. We don’t have ex cuses anymore. You do not have the excuses anymore. We’re coming to find you to be trained to give you neces sary skills so that you can be functioning in the economy, you can be part of the trans formation, you can be part of the development,” Ali had urged them.

An example of an E-health card

President Ali engaging a young man during his visit last week (DPI photo)

Dr. Tariq Jagnarine Family meDicine, enDocrinology/DiabeTes

Being overweight or obese can lead to a range of health prob lems, including heart dis ease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. Although many different “fad” diets are available, a balanced life style and nutritious diet are the key to healthy living and better weight control.

Crash diets are not a sus

tainable solution, whatev er perks their proponents might claim them to have. To both lose weight safe ly and sustain that weight loss over time, it is essen tial to make gradual, perma nent, and beneficial lifestyle changes.

People can lose weight, and maintain this loss by taking several achievable steps. These include the fol lowing:

1. EAT VARIED, COLOURFUL, NUTRITIONALLY-DENSE FOODS

Healthful meals and snacks should form the foun dation of the human diet. A simple way to create a meal plan is to make sure that each meal consists of 50 per cent fruit and vegetables, 25 percent whole grains, and 25 percent protein. Total fi bre intake should be 25–30 grams (g) daily.

Eliminate trans-fats

HEALTH TIPS

WEIGHT LOSS

from the diet, and minimise the intake of saturated fats, which have a strong link with the incidence of coro nary heart disease.

The following foods are healthful, and often rich in nutrients:

* Fresh fruits and vege tables

* Fish

* Legumes

* Nuts

* Seeds

* Whole grains, such as brown rice and oatmeal

Foods to avoid eating include:

* Foods with added oils, butter, and sugar

* Fatty red or processed meats

* Baked goods

* Bagels

* White bread

* Processed foods

2. KEEP A FOOD AND WEIGHT DIARY

Self-monitoring is a criti

cal factor in successfully los ing weight. People can use a paper diary, mobile app, or dedicated website to record every item of food that they consume each day. They can also measure their progress by recording their weight on a weekly basis.

3. ENGAGE IN REGULAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND EXERCISE

Regular physical activ ity can help a person lose weight. Regular exercise is vital for both physical and mental health. Increasing the frequency of physical ac tivity in a disciplined and purposeful way is often cru cial for successful weight loss.

One hour of moderate-in tensity activity per day, such as brisk walking, is ideal. If one hour per day is not pos sible, the Mayo Clinic sug gests that a person should aim for a minimum of 150

minutes every week.

If the thought of a full workout seems intimidating to someone who is new to ex ercise, they can begin by do ing the following activities to increase their exercise lev els:

* Taking the stairs

* Raking leaves

* Walking a dog

* Gardening

* Dancing

* Playing outdoor games

* Parking farther away from a building entrance

4. ELIMINATE LIQUID CALORIES

It is possible to consume hundreds of calories a day by drinking sugar-sweetened soda, tea, juice, or alcohol. These are known as “empty calories”, because they pro vide extra energy content without offering any nutri tional benefits.

Unless a person is con suming a smoothie to replace a meal, they should aim to stick to water, or unsweet ened tea or coffee. Adding a splash of fresh lemon or or ange to the water can pro vide flavour.

Avoid mistaking dehy dration for hunger. An in dividual can often satisfy feelings of hunger between scheduled meal times with a drink of water.

5. MEASURE SERVINGS, AND CONTROL PORTIONS

Eating too much of any food, even low-calorie vege tables, can result in weight gain. Therefore, people should avoid estimating a serving size, or eating food directly from the packet. It is better to use measuring cups and serving-size guides. Guessing leads to overesti mating and the likelihood of eating a larger-than-neces sary portion.

6. EAT MINDFULLY

Many people benefit from mindful eating, which in volves being fully aware of why, how, when, where, and what they eat. Making more healthful food choices is a direct outcome of becoming more in tune with the body.

People who practise mindful eating also try to eat more slowly and savour their food, concentrating on the taste. Making a meal last for 20 minutes allows the body to register all of the signals for satiety.

It is important to focus on being satisfied after a meal, rather than being full, and to bear in mind that many “all-natural” or low-fat foods are not necessarily healthful choices.

7. STIMULUS AND CUE CONTROL

Many social and environ mental cues might encour age unnecessary eating. For example, some people are more likely to overeat while watching television. Others have trouble passing a bowl of candy to someone else without taking a piece.

By being aware of what may trigger the desire to

snack on empty calories, people can think of ways to adjust their routines to limit these triggers.

8. PLAN AHEAD

Stocking a kitchen with diet-friendly foods and cre ating structured meal plans would result in more signifi cant weight loss.

People looking to lose weight or keep it off should clear their kitchens of pro cessed or junk foods, and en sure that they have the in gredients on hand to make simple healthful meals. Doing this can prevent quick, unplanned and care less eating.

Planning food choices be fore getting to social events or restaurants might also make the process easier.

9. SEEK SOCIAL SUPPORT

Having social support is a great way to stay motivat ed. Embracing the support of loved ones is an integral part of a successful weight loss journey.

Some people may wish to invite friends or family members to join them, while others might prefer to use social media to share their progress.

10. STAY POSITIVE

Weight loss is a grad ual process, and a person may feel discouraged if the pounds do not drop off at quite the rate that they had anticipated.

Some days will be harder than others when sticking to a weight loss or maintenance programme. A successful weight-loss programme re quires the individual to per severe, and not give up when self-change seems too diffi cult.

Successfully losing weight does not require peo ple to follow a specific diet plan, such as Slimming World or Atkins. Instead, they should focus on eating fewer calories and moving more, to achieve a negative energy balance.

Weight loss is primarily dependent on reducing the total intake of calories, not adjusting the proportions of carbohydrates, fat, and pro tein in the diet.

A reasonable weight loss goal to start seeing health benefits is a 5–10 percent re duction in body weight over a 6-month time frame.

Maintaining weight loss involves a commitment to a healthful lifestyle, from which there is no “vacation.”

Although people should feel free to enjoy a special meal out, a birthday celebra tion, or a joyful holiday feast without feeling guilty, they should try not to stray too far from the path of health ful eating and frequent physical activity. Those who do may find that they lose fo cus. Regaining lost weight is easier than losing it.

Achieving and maintain ing weight loss is possible when people adopt lifestyle changes in the long term.

7,410 GOAL scholarships awarded to date – Min Parag

In keeping with the PPP/C Government’s commitment to deliver 20,000 online scholarships to Guyanese, a total of 7410 Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) scholar ships were awarded to cit izens to date.

This was disclosed by Public Service Minister Sonia Parag during her ap pearance on The Guyana

Dialogue on Thursday.

The GOAL programme is a collaborative effort be tween the Education and Public Service Ministries.

“This is such a signif icant initiative and pro gramme and we have seen an overwhelming response to it. So, in 2021 when the GOAL scholarship was rolled out, we initially in tended to grant 4500 schol

arships because the target was 20,000 online scholar ships by 2025.

“We intended to give 4500 but we were able to give ordinary Guyanese and 6000 ordinary Guyanese the opportunity to either gain a skillset or a tertia ry-level education through the programme. In 2022, that number significantly went up from 6000 to 7410.”

New Chesney well to serve 12,000

residents

also include the drilling of a new well at Port Mourant in the first quarter of 2023, as well as another one at Adventure, where a water treatment plant will be con structed to serve Tain - No 50 Village.

The New Amsterdam wa ter treatment plant is also expected to see an upgrade.

These plans will tremen dously improve quality and level of service for areas in West Canje and along the East Bank of Berbice.

GOAL ushers in a new era of higher tertiary edu cation. It plays a significant role in mitigating the chal lenges facing persons living in remote and riverine ar eas.

“We did an oil and gas training as well that add ed another 70 to that pro gramme. So, the pro gramme has been quite successful and it’s just not to be able to have self-de

velopment but to be able to have national development, to be able to reach a wide cross-section of our coun try,” the Minister added.

$1.3 billion was allocat ed in the 2022 budget for the GOAL scholarship pro gramme. This programme is aimed at improving the relevant skills required to support Guyana’s rapid de velopment.

Apart from the GOAL

scholarship programme, 350 students are on schol arships at the University of Guyana (UG) to date.

Capacity Building in Information Technology

Meanwhile, the Ministry aims to roll out a robust Information Technology (IT) training programme through the Centre for Excellence in Information Technology (CEIT).

This programme will not only focus on public ser vants but on communities as well.

“I still think that even though we are the Ministry of Public Service and geared towards building ca pacity in the public service itself, the communities, I find that we can also go into communities and help them,” Minister Parag ex pressed.

The centre is an insti tution tailored to deliver ing high-quality specialised ICT training to the public sector.

Approximately 12,000 villagers from Kilcoy, Chesney, Gibraltar, No 1 Village and parts of Albion, Berbice, will soon enjoy a better level of ser vice, following the comple tion of a newly drilled well at Chesney.

Guyana Water Inc (GWI) Chief Executive Officer Shaik Baksh, who visited the well site on Friday, stat ed that its realisation is a success story for residents who have concerns about re ceiving a low level of service. It also forms part of GWI’s investment programme.

Baksh, who explained that the well is currently being tested and developed, pointed out that it is expect ed to be completed by next week.

He also pointed out that it is being done by an inhouse team, which will save the company a considerable amount of money.

This well will replace the existing one at Kilcoy, which was used to serve the com munity. The CEO said it has become aged but will be re habilitated and kept for re dundancy for the continuity

of water supply when need ed.

GWI Manager of Ground Water and Well Services, Orin Browne pointed out that this is the third well be ing drilled by the in-house team since acquiring the new rig.

“It boasts one of the most sophisticated and complex designs in the history of deep-well in-house drilling in Guyana… it is designed to produce in excess of 500 cubic metres of water per hour, which is double the typical well,” Browne added.

The well, which was drilled to a depth of approx imately 1100 feet, has the production capacity to sup ply a treatment plant on its own and is expected to last for 30 years. However, the technical well drilling team is confident that it will sur pass its lifespan by a large margin, with proper main tenance.

Browne noted that GWI mobilised as fast as possible after listening to the cries from the community.

Meanwhile, Baksh high lighted that forthcoming plans for the Berbice region

Public Service Minister Sonia Parag

The new well at Chesney

MHSSS to host DefendHer, Younited today

As the Human Services and Social Security Ministry continues its calendar of activities for 16 Days of Activism, two major activities are planned for today – DefendHer and Younite.

The day will start with “DefendHer!” from 13:00h at the Police Officers’ Mess Hall, Eve Leary. This is a free active seminar that teaches a series of self-de fence techniques to wom en above 16 years through Maxido’s adult self-defence training system.

The techniques that will be taught at the three-hour activity are tailored to suit situations that women in

Guyana face on a daily ba sis and will seek to equip women with the necessary skills to protect themselves.

Subject Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud related,

“This initiative is new and focuses on self-defence tech niques, specifically with women. It is done in col laboration with Maxido’s self-defence training and

we are encouraging wom en 16 years and older to come over on Sunday and go through a series of tech niques that will help you in defending yourself. It is a fact that many women en counter situations such as robberies and violent crimes and these techniques will help you to resist in a high ly skilled manner that could perhaps be life-saving.”

Immediately after that, the action heads over to “Orange Avenue” (Camp and Lamaha Streets) for the “Younited” fair and concert.

This event features several booths from Safe Space, Equal Guyana, Her Venture, women of WIIN,

and much more. There will also be a series of games with prizes to be won and a concert showcasing the tal ent of the Ministry’s Young Influencers. Admission is also free and open from 16:00h.

To date, the Ministry has completed sensitisa tion exercises in Regions Four, Five and Six, hosted consultations on Guyana’s CEDAW Report, a mas sive “Talk Yuh Mind” ral ly as well as campaigns on elderly abuse, sexual vi olence and bullying and body shaming in schools.

The 16 Days of Activism against GBV is an annu al campaign that begins

on Nov 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until December 10, when Human Rights Day is observed. This campaign was start ed by activists at the in augural Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and continues to be coordinated each year by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership.

The other initiatives planned include a nation wide consultation on the new Family Violence Act, and campaigns to raise awareness against cyber abuse and domestic vio lence.

Minister Vindhya Persaud at one of the 16 Days of Activism events

6 busted with cocaine, ganja by CANU

Five men and a woman are now in custody af ter they were busted with a quantity of cocaine and marijuana by ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU).

The first operation was done on Friday while CANU officers were conducting a surveillance operation in the vicinity of Church Street in Georgetown. While there, the report stated that ranks observed a suspicious trans action.

As a result, the officers pursued one of the suspects to his residence at Smythe Street, Charlestown, where a subsequent search un earthed five brick-like par cels, amounting to 3.3 ki lograms of cocaine, and two plastic bags containing 1.520 kilograms of cannabis.

Javed Ragnauth, 28, and Samantha Nasemento, 32, of the said Smythe Street address, along with Yancy Garraway, 35, of Lot 2 North Road, Bourda, and Charles Jones, a 48-year-old min er of Four Miles Housing Scheme, Bartica, were all arrested.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, CANU officers conducted an operation in

Central Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) during which they observed a black plas tic bag hidden in a clump of bushes in an alley.

The narcotics were re trieved and taken to CANU’s Lethem Office, where they tested positive for cannabis and amounted to 600 grams. So far, no one was arrested.

Also on that same day, CANU ranks intercepted a vehicle with two occupants on the Rupununi Road in Central Lethem. The vehi cle, which had a Brazilian licence plate, was searched and 40 grams of cannabis was found concealed in a haversack.

There, two Brazilian na tionals, Romario Da Cunha

Watson Dosantos, and Ken Perry of Maruranau Village, South Rupununi, were both

arrested. The men are ex pected to be charged shortly.

The 4 suspects who were arrested in Georgetown

The ganja and cocaine that were found in Georgetown

The two suspects found at Rupununi

The ganja found at Rupununi

Interventions in Haiti must be led by Haitian stakeholders – St Vincent PM

Even as the Caribbean Community (Caricom) continues to make plans for intervention in Haiti amid its continued in stability, St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has warned the Region to tread carefully and limit itself to a “good offic es” role in the controversy.

In a letter, Gonsalves made it clear that neither he nor his Government supports a “Caricom Mission to Haiti” that takes the shape of what is cur rently being proposed. Instead, Gonsalves noted that Caricom must focus on a “good offices”

role where it facilitates politi cal dialogue and assists Haiti in preparing for elections.

Gonsalves pointed out that many Haitians do not rec ognise the present Haitian Government of Prime Minister Dr Ariel Henry, who took of fice after the assassination of Jovenel Moïse and who has re quested security support from the United Nations, Canada and the United States of America and Caricom itself, to deal with the gang violence.

The PM noted that even if Caricom had the capaci ty to lend security support to Haitian National Police

against the armed gangs run ning amok, the Region runs the risk of being seen as ‘propping up’ the Henry Government if this was its first tangible re sponse to the crisis.

“The Haitian National Police (HNP) is grossly under manned, poorly trained, inade quately equipped, and riddled with gang supporters. Further, non-Haitian creole military/ Police personnel from outside Haiti will not be able to func tion effectively alongside the HNP who speak a different lan guage.”

“Addressing the weakness es and limitations of the HNP

will take a long time, but one can only begin to do so serious ly and effectively within the context of more consensual po litical/governance apparatus es than what currently exists,” Gonsalves said in his letter.

The Prime Minister also warned that a Caricom scop ing mission to Haiti under US or Canadian military escort will be seen by Haitians as “an American/Canadian military operation cocooning Caricom puppets”

“Fundamentally, any Caricom Mission in Haiti must first be predicated upon a polit ical/governance solution craft ed by the Haitian stakeholders consequent upon an inclusive dialogue between them. This dialogue ought to be conducted outside Haiti under Caricom’s facilitation, providing of course that the Haitian stakeholders

so agree,” the PM stressed.

According to Gonsalves, any intervention in Haiti must have the buy-in of Haitian stakeholders. He also suggest ed that the Americans and the Canadians ought to be pres ent at the venue of the con sultations/dialogue in an ad visory capacity. Additionally, a request can be made to the Americans and Canadians for air transportation and associ ated logistics.

“As facilitators, we in Caricom need to be patient and calm, yet acting with all prac tical urgency. As bad as things are in Haiti, they are likely to get much worse if we do not act prudently.”

“Above all, we must remem ber that Caricom is a facilita tor; the Haitians must devise their solutions and lead the process themselves – represen

tatives of all the Haitian peo ple, not merely a Government which lacks legitimacy and ef fectiveness,” Gonsalves added.

Gonsalves is not alone in urging that a political solution must be reached before any se curity solution. A number of countries, including Canada, have noted that political chang es are necessary, even as news has emerged of a possible for eign military intervention into Haiti.

The security situation in Haiti has deteriorated dramat ically since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, as rival gangs bat tle for dominance on the streets of Port-au-Prince. In fact, ear lier this year Prime Minister Henry survived what is widely suspected to have been an as sassination attempt.

– warns Caricom to limit itself to a “good offices” role

Top Cop concerned about recent murders committed by mentally challenged persons

by her 22-year-old grand daughter.

According to reports, Gamell lived alone in a flat concrete house and would be visited occasionally by her granddaughter.

On Saturday night, the suspect visited the elderly woman with her one-monthold daughter to spend the night.

did not know how she re ceived her injuries. She was later sent to the psychiat ric ward of the Georgetown Public Hospital, to undergo evaluation.

Ganja among prohibited items unearthed during Mazaruni Prison raid

Asearch exercise con ducted by ranks of the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) re sulted in the discovery of a number of prohibited items at the Mazaruni Prison, Mazaruni River, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

Following two re cent murders in Georgetown and one on the Essequibo Coast that were committed by persons that were men tally challenged, Acting Police Commissioner Clifton

However, early on Sunday morning, one of Gamell’s neighbours told in vestigators that she heard loud screams, tramping, and crying of a baby coming from the elderly woman’s house. These sounds lasted for about 15 minutes.

Shortly after, the sus pect went to the neighbour’s house and knocked at the door.

According to the neigh

Meanwhile, on Friday morning, a 76-year-old woman was stabbed to death at her Princes Street, Georgetown home, and her nephew who is mentally ill and whom she had taken care of since he was a child is the suspect in this matter.

Audrey Statia Elizabeth Harris was found dead with her body bearing multiple stab wounds.

Police said that the al leged perpetrator of this act is her nephew, a person in his 50s who has been liv ing in the bottom flat of her two-storey home. He has since gone into hiding.

The search was conduct ed on Saturday between 06:00h and 10:15h by mem bers of the Guyana Police Force, headed by Deputy Commander for Regional Police Division 7, Deputy Superintendent Oswald Pitt along with Second in Charge of Mazaruni Prisons Superintendent David Shepherd. They were assisted by ranks of both Bartica Police Station and Mazaruni Prison.

The search was carried out in the bricks, the secu rity block, the dormitory, and the stores.

During the search, three cell phones, 42 im provised weapons, eight chargers, fifteen lighters, one knife, three pairs of scissors, and a number of suspected cannabis leaves, seeds, and stems were dis covered.

The narcotics were weighed and amounted to 116 grams. The prohibit ed items were lodged at the Bartica Police Station.

Recently, 826 kilograms of ganja was found at the Mazaruni Prison, during a search at the facility.

Police stated that the search was conducted along the outer wall of the Mazaruni Prison and on the western side, where a black plastic bag contain ing ten parcels of ganja

was found.

The cannabis was re portedly wrapped in plas tic wrap. In addition, 1.5 litres of alcohol and a quantity of smoking wrap pers were also found. The Police were contacted and the narcotics and oth er prohibited items were handed over.

ECD man electrocuted while setting up metal Christmas tree at Lusignan

Hicken said he is deeply con cerned.

As such, he advised that families look out for those who may be showing signs of depression and seek the nec essary intervention to miti gate such crimes.

“The Guyana Police Force will also continue to work closely with the Ministry of Human Services and oth er stakeholders in pursuing initiatives aimed at mitigat ing such occurrences,” the Commissioner said.

At least two elderly wom en were killed in the last week by their relatives that suffer from mental illnesses.

On Sunday last, 75-yearold Angelica Agatha Gamell, a pensioner of Lot 168 Charity Housing Scheme, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), was brutally killed at her home

bour, when the door was opened, she saw the 22-yearold woman with the na ked baby in her hands. The neighbour said the suspect told her that the baby had just died and attempted to hand the baby over to her. The neighbour refused to take the baby.

The suspect then walked out of the yard and onto the street with her baby.

The Police were called, and upon inspection of the house, the ranks discovered Gamell’s body clad in a white nightdress with suspected bloodstains and black tights, lying face up on a floormat in the kitchen.

Her head was reportedly shaved, and salt was found around her body.

Shortly after, the teach er was taken into custody, and when questioned by the Police, she claimed that she

The woman’s husband, Lawrence Hayde, said he was on his way to work when he was informed of his wife’s death, he said he returned home, and he found his wife’s lifeless body.

Meanwhile, the Police said that the suspect and the victim had an argument ear lier in the day because she had wanted the suspect to move out of the house and the suspect had refused. During that argument, the suspect, who was armed with a knife, dealt the victim two stabs on both sides of her neck. At the time of the incident, the vic tim was also armed with a hammer.

Upon being stabbed, the victim fell to the ground, and the suspect ran out of the yard and escaped in an un known direction. Up to press time on Saturday, he re mained on the run.

A29-year-old machin ist is now dead af ter Police said he was allegedly electrocut ed while he and a few oth ers were erecting a met al Christmas tree in front of a Lusignan, East Coast Demerara residence.

Dead is Deepak Ramdeen of Good Hope, ECD. The incident oc curred sometime around 23:00h on Friday night at the Lot 139 East Lusignan residence of another fit

ter machinist, Gupta Ramcharran called “Billy”.

It is been alleged that the star on the top of the tree came into contact with a live wire overhead, which caused Ramdeen to be electrocuted.

Police inquiries dis closed that Ramdeen and others were erecting the metal Christmas tree us ing a crane attached to a lorry bearing registration number GCA 9708 that Darampaul Prettipaul was

operating.

During that process, Ramdeen as well as the others received electric shocks to their bodies.

They were all rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

The deceased suc cumbed while receiv ing treatment, while Gupta Ramcharran along with Shivraj Rulall and Mahendra Ramcharran re main patients in the Burns Unit at GPHC.

Investigations are on going.

Audrey Statia Elizabeth Harris

Acting Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken

Angelica Agatha Gamell

The ganja and other items found on Saturday

Dead: Deepak Ramdeen

OIL NEWS

OPEC+ will keep oil policy unchanged in review talks, sources say

OPEC+ will likely stick to its oil output targets when it meets today, five OPEC+ sources said on Saturday, a day after the Group of Seven (G7) nations agreed a price cap on Russian oil.

OPEC+, which comprises the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, angered the United States and other Western nations in October when it agreed to cut output by 2 million barrels per day (bpd), about 2 per cent of world demand, from November until the end of 2023.

Washington accused the group and one of its leaders, Saudi Arabia, of siding with Russia despite Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

OPEC+ argued it had cut output because of a weaker economic outlook and oil prices have declined since October due to slower Chinese and global growth and higher interest rates.

On Friday, G7 nations and Australia agreed a US$60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil in a move to deprive President Vladimir Putin of revenue while keeping Russian oil flowing to global markets.

Moscow said it would not sell its oil under the cap and was analysing how to respond.

Many analysts and OPEC Ministers have said the price cap was confusing and probably inefficient as Moscow has been selling most of its oil to countries like China and India, which have refused to condemn the war in Ukraine.

OPEC virtually met on Saturday without allies such as Russia and discussed mostly administrative matters, sources said. The Ministers did not discuss the Russian price cap.

Five OPEC+ delegates said on Saturday the OPEC+ meeting today would likely approve a policy rollover.

On Friday, two separate OPEC+ sources said a further output cut was not completely off the table given concern about economic growth and demand.

OPEC+ begins talks at 1100 GMT today with a meeting of the advisory Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) panel, followed by the full ministerial conference. (Reuters)

El Salvador deploys 10,000 troops to gangrun capital suburb

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced Saturday the deployment of 10,000 security forces to a suburb of San Salvador known to be a stronghold for gangs.

The move is the lat est escalation in a crusade against gang violence that began in March, which hu man rights groups say has been marred by unjustified detentions.

“Soyapango is totally surrounded,” the President wrote on Twitter early Saturday, referring to the municipality in the eastern part of the capital region known to be a stronghold of the Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs.

“8,500 soldiers and 1,500 agents have sur rounded the city, while ex traction teams from the Police and the army are tasked with extricating

all the gang members still there one by one.”

Government represen tatives declined to com ment on the deployment.

Images released by the Government showed troops carrying heavy weapons, helmets and bulletproof vests, travelling in war ve hicles. The municipality has a population of about 300,000 and was previous ly considered impregnable for law enforcement.

Since he began his plan to combat gangs, Bukele has ordered the arrest of more than 50,000 alleged gang members, whom he describes as terrorists and has denied basic procedur al rights to.

The plan aims to reduce the Central American coun try’s homicide rate to less than two a day, after doz ens of Salvadorans were killed in a single weekend in March. (Reuters)

Around the World

South Africa leader Cyril Ramaphosa won’t resign, says spokesman

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa will not resign despite a scandal over money stolen from his farm, his spokesman said.

The row centres on claims he kept large sums of cash on his property then covered up its theft.

A panel of legal experts concluded that he has a case to answer.

But Ramaphosa’s spokesman suggested he would fight on, and rather than quit would seek a sec ond term as leader of his ANC party.

“President Ramaphosa is not resigning based on a flawed report, neither is he stepping aside,” Vincent Magwenya said.

“It may be in the longterm interest and sustain ability of our constitution al democracy, well beyond

the Ramaphosa presidency, that such a clearly flawed report is challenged,” he added.

The scandal erupted in

June, when a former South African spy boss, Arthur Fraser, filed a complaint with Police accusing the President of hiding a theft

of US$4 million (£3.25 mil lion) in cash from his Phala Phala game farm in 2020.

Ramaphosa admitted that money had been stolen, but said it was US$580,000, not US$4 million.

The panel’s findings have been handed to par liament, which is set to ex amine them and decide whether or not to launch impeachment proceedings against the president.

Ramaphosa is also un der pressure from the op position, as well as rivals from his governing African National Congress (ANC), to resign.

The scandal is especial ly damaging for Ramaphosa because he came to power vowing to clear up the cor ruption which had dogged the country under his pre decessor, Jacob Zuma.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Ramaphosa is under pressure from his own party, but his spokesman said he would seek a second term as ANC leader

ARIES

(March 21April 19)

TAURUS (April 20May 20)

Spruce up your looks, en gage in pursuits that offer wis dom and experience, and con nect with people in the know and eager to explore new pas times and possibilities.

You may crave change, but before you dive in, do your due diligence and find out exact ly what you get for what you give. Ask a question, exam ine the possibilities and make things happen.

GEMINI (MAY 28June 20)

CANCER

Nurture meaningful rela tionships, and you'll get the help you need to make life better. Take care of your re sponsibilities early and move on to fun times with stimulat ing people.

Take a hard look at how you do things. Don't be afraid to take the road less traveled. Looking for unique people and pastimes will spark your imagination and inspire you.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Don't overspend. Take a hike with a loved one or attend an event that offers a chal lenge geared toward self-im provement. A little help will go a long way and make a dif ference to how you proceed.

Study, be inquisitive and share your feelings. How you express yourself and the care you take when helping others will be crucial. Don't let an ger ruin your day. Focus on what's important.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

A passionate attitude will draw people to your side. Time spent with friends, rel atives or peers will be infor mative and help you decide where and how you want to live. Romance is favoured.

Start a project that opens your mind to a host of oppor tunities, but under no circum stances should you lay your money on the table prema turely. Rethink how best to use your skills.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

CAPRICORN

(Dec. 22Jan. 19)

Take domestic matters in stride and accommodate oth ers without letting anyone take advantage of you. A pos itive attitude may help keep the peace, but don't fear mak ing your opinion known.

Share your thoughts with a friend, relative or peer, and you will receive input that will help you manage your person al life and finances. Stick to the basics.

AQUARIUS

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FIFA World Cup: Qatar 2022…

Messi scores in 1000th game as Argentina defeat Australia

Lionel Messi has pro duced a moment of mag ic on his 1,000th career appearance, as two-time cham pions Argentina beat Australia to reach the World Cup quar ter-finals.

Messi, 35, was winning his 119th cap for his country, and they needed his brilliance to take them through to the next round and a tantalising tie against the Netherlands on Friday.

Argentina had barely threatened in the first half, but Paris St-Germain’s Messi stroked in a delightful low fin ish to spark wild celebrations from their fans.

The South American sup porters had been on their feet singing all game, and they had further delight when Julian Alvarez punished Mat Ryan’s mistake to double their advan tage.

Australia had offered very little, but surprisingly pulled one back with 13 minutes re maining, when substitute

Craig Goodwin’s strike took a huge deflection off Enzo Fernandez. They could have levelled shortly after through Aziz Behich, whose incredi ble solo run took him past four players, but his shot was su perbly blocked by Lisandro Martinez’s sliding challenge as Argentina edged through.

Australia frustrated Argentina for 35 minutes, sit ting deep and compact, al lowing no space in behind; Alejandro Gomez’s wild shot that flew way over was the only sniff they had. But every time Messi got his left boot on the ball, there was a buzz of ex citement in the stadium, sharp

intakes of breath as people an ticipated something special. And the little magician show cased exactly why he is consid ered one of the greatest of all time in his landmark game, starting and finishing a move that had blue and white shirts dancing in the stands.

Messi saw a free-kick

from the left cleared, but Argentina recycled the ball, with Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister fizzing a pass into Nicolas Otamendi, who laid it off for Messi to take a touch to set himself before caressing a precise finish into the bottom corner.

Arms outstretched, Messi ran away to celebrate in front of his adoring faithful, after converting his ninth World Cup goal - remarkably his first in a knockout-stage match - to move just one behind Gabriel Batistuta’s Argentina record.

A trademark jinking run then came to nothing, but thrilled those watching, who broke out with chants of “Messi! Messi! Messi!” He could have drawn level - or even surpassed Batistuta - in the second half, but slipped at the vital moment to scuff a shot straight at Ryan, and fired an other two efforts off target.

Ryan, the former Brighton keeper, had a moment to for get on his 10th World Cup ap

Dumfries delivers as Netherlands beat USA

Denzel Dumfries scored one goal, and was at the double with assists, putting almost identical balls into Depay and Blind, as Netherlands sweep past USA.

Netherlands survived a temporary scare as they swept past USA to book their place in the quarter-fi nal. USA actually start ed the brighter of the two sides; Christian Pulisic could have opened the scor ing just a couple of minutes into the match, but was de nied by Andries Noppert af ter racing onto a cute ball over the Dutch defence.

But Netherlands re sponded in style, scoring

fect for Memphis Depay to sweep home.

The Americans, perhaps expecting Netherlands to open up and attack a lit

Dumfries pulled a ball back to almost the exact spot as he did for the opener, and this time it was Blind who was grateful for the chance to find the far corner.

After the restart, Tim Ream had an effort cleared off the line on his 50th ap pearance for USA, and at the other end, Matt Turner prevented a seemingly cer tain goal - initially saving Teun Koopmeiners’ shot, the goalkeeper was quick to his feet to complete the dou ble save from Depay’s closerange header.

eventually dropping into the far corner of the net.

It seemed like USA had life in them yet, but the day’s star perform er, Denzel Dumfries, guid ed a beautiful left foot vol ley into the net from Blind’s cross - returning the favour from earlier - to kill the comeback.

Was Haji Wright’s goal one of the best goals of the tournament? Or one of the strangest? Perhaps both.

Haji Wright’s goal brought life into this game just as Netherlands were starting to wind down to full time with their two-goal lead, but what made it real ly special was how simply bizarre it was.

Wright was tumbling to the floor as his right boot flicked a low cross high into the air. Time hung, just as the ball did, as nobody was quite sure what was happening. Sure enough, whether intentional or not, the ball dropped over ev erybody’s head and into the net, sending the American fans into rapture.

one of the silkiest goals of Qatar 2022 so far. Playing out from defence, the Oranje used one-and twotouch passes to work the ball out to Denzel Dumfries on the right ring, whose pullback was inch-per

tle more, looked lacking in ideas, as the Dutch hap pily sat in and frustrat ed the USA forward play ers. Biding their time paid off as, with just seconds left to play in the first half,

However, it was the Americans who truly re lit the fire in this game. Following a corner won by Haji Wright, it was the for ward himself who profited - scoring a truly astonish ing goal. Meeting Pulisic’s low cross, Wright flicked the ball from the near post, up and over the defence and goalkeeper, with the ball

Key stat

Memphis Depay moved clear of Klaas Jan Huntelaar to become Netherlands’ second top goal scorer of all time. His goal came at the end of a 20-goal move, which is the highest amount of uninter rupted passes leading to a World Cup goal in the coun try’s history. (FIFA)

pearance - the joint most for his coun try - when he took a heavy touch from a back-pass, allow ing Manchester City’s Alvarez to nip in, spin, and score into an open net.

Following their groupstage heroics, Australia were looking to spring another sur prise, and had hope, courte sy of Goodwin’s 20-yard drive that took a fortuitous deflec tion with 13 minutes remain ing. They could have taken the game to extra time when full-back Behich embarked on a mazy run to beat numerous defenders, but Martinez re acted in the nick of time. An even better chance fell to the Socceroos in the 97th minute when Garang Kuol brought the ball down in the area, but his shot on the turn was well kept out by Emiliano Martinez’s re flex save. (BBC Sport)

Bucks’ forward Khris Middleton happy to be back

A rampant pair of performances from Anthony Davis and LeBron James – who scored 44 points and passed Magic Johnson on the all-time NBA assists list respectively – saw the visitors downed 133-129. But even with the loss, it marked a major landmark for the Bucks, as they welcomed back for ward Middleton to their line-up, having seen him sidelined since April’s playoffs.

With 17 points and seven assists, the 31-year-old kept himself busy throughout, and expressed his delight at get ting back on the floor with the rest of his team-mates. “It felt really good to be back out there with the guys competing, playing,” he said. “[I’ve got] a range of emotions. [I’ve] been through a lot these last couple months - happy, sad, anxious, nervous. To finally get out there and play and get a lot of those nerves past me, it felt pretty good.”

The Bucks head to the Charlotte Hornets as part of a back-to-back on Saturday, but head coach Mike Budenholzer has suggested Middleton will not be played again so quickly in succession.

“To have Khris back is huge for us,” he added. “[It is] pret ty impressive how seamlessly he got back into the game [at] both ends of the court. We talk a lot about…Khris, he’s just a basketball player. He’s a smart player [who] just under stands the game! [He is] not overly reliant on athleticism or things like that. For him to come back and be able to catch a good rhythm – he’s got to keep working, but a big step for us tonight to get Khris Middleton back.” (Sportsmax)

FIFA World Cup: Qatar 2022…

Khris Middleton has been happy to get minutes under his belt despite defeat, after he played his first game since April for the Milwaukee Bucks against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Lionel Messi celebrating his first World Cup knockout stage goal

after first match since April

American Basketball…

vs

Brathwaite's hundred defies Australia, but Lyon strikes late

…Marnus Labuschagne notches a rare milestone as he adds a century to his first innings’ double

Needing a record 498 runs

for victory, or more realistically to bat through 154 overs to draw, Brathwaite superbly batted through the final two sessions of day four to provide hope for the injury-hit tourists.

unavailability of Cummins, who had starred in West Indies' first innings to claim his 200th Test wicket.

when Lyon picked up Shamarh Brooks, who, as the concussion substitute, had batted well against the odds in the first innings, but fell cheaply second time around, after edging to slip.

continued on his merry way, and passed 2000 Test runs in Australia in his 31st innings.

Marnus Labuschagne not out 104 Steven Smith not out 20 Extras (lb 2, nb 1, w 1) 4

TOTAL 37 Ov (RR: 4.91) 182/2d

Did not bat: Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey †, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

Fall of wickets: 1-20 (Usman Khawaja, 4.1 ov), 2-101 (David Warner, 24.6 ov)

BOWLING O-M-R-W

Kemar Roach 7-2-30-1

Alzarri Joseph 10-1-42-0

Jason Holder 8-1-39-0

Roston Chase 6-0-31-1

Jayden Seales 3-0-18-0

Kraigg Brathwaite 3-0-20-0

Josh Hazlewood 13-3-39-0

However, West Indies' chances of starving off defeat in the series-opener still appear unlikely, even amid the uncertainty over Cummins, who did not bowl after experiencing quadricep soreness. He returned to the field in the final session, and appeared to be moving around without obvious discomfort. An assessment tomorrow morning would determine whether Cummins can bowl on the fifth day. Nathan Lyon relished shouldering more of the workload, and claimed two wickets as he conjured menacing bounce on the Optus Stadium surface.

Leading from the front, Brathwaite was in sublime touch, and scored uncharacteristically quickly to make Australia's shorthanded attack toil. He reached a deserved ton just before stumps, but would likely need to bat for the long haul on day five to thwart Australia's bid for victory.

Brathwaite passed 5000 Test runs with a gorgeous drive down the ground, to capitalise on the

Former skipper Steve Smith took the captaincy reins during Cummins's absence as Australia failed to make inroads against Brathwaite and debutant Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who batted mostly untroubled through the entire second session, and scored just three runs off his first 36 balls in an effective rearguard alongside a fluent Brathwaite.

For a spark, Smith even resorted to Marnus Labuschagne, who bowled medium pacers instead of his usual legspin, but it didn't do the trick. But the return of Cummins, even though he couldn't bowl, was surely a tonic for Australia, as quick Mitchell Starc finally provided the breakthrough when Chanderpaul chopped on to end an impressive Test debut with scores of 51 and 45.

Starc made amends after dropping Chanderpaul moments earlier on the boundary, with Australia's frustration underlined by Cameron Green punching the ground after having missed out on a wicket.

Australia's mood brightened

Australia had hoped to tear through West Indies’ resistance amid the ground's increasing shadows, but Jermaine Blackwood successfully reviewed an lbw decision off Josh Hazlewood. However, He never looked comfortable, and fell to Lyon just before stumps.

Australia had earlier declared their second innings at lunch after Labuschagne added a ton to his first innings’ doublecentury. Labuschagne rode some luck to become just the third Australia batter, after Greg Chappell and Doug Walters, to score a double-century and century in the same Test.

Labuschagne made 308 runs for the match to continue a personal run spree at Optus Stadium after he scored 143 and 50 against New Zealand three years ago in the last Test played at the ground.

Labuschagne received luck on his way to his ninth Test century when he topedged to gully via his helmet, but was reprieved by a noball from Alzarri Joseph amid a riveting battle. After receiving medical attention, Labuschagne

Marquino Mindley called up to join West Indies Test squad in Australia

Right-arm fast bowler Marquino Mindley is travelling to Australia as injury cover for the West Indies Men’s squad ahead of the second Test in Adelaide, and is due to arrive in Australia on Tuesday morn ing.

All-rounder Raymon Reifer has been ruled out of the tour with a groin injury, and Kyle Mayers can no longer bowl in the series after suffering a strain to his right teres ma jor. Nkrumah Bonner has been ruled out of further par ticipation in the current first Test match, due to concussion protocols, after being struck on the helmet when batting in West Indies first innings. Shamarh Brooks has replaced him as the concussion substi tute.

Mindley, 27, has so far

played 42 first-class match es, and has taken 103 wick ets at an average of 24.25

runs per wicket. His last first-class assignment was in August

Indies “A” Team against Bangladesh “A” in Saint Lucia, where he had im pressive figures of 5-59 in the first four-day match.

This West Indies’ first Test against Australia is being played at the Perth Stadium, and enters the fifth and final day on Sunday 4 December. The second Test will be a day/ night contest featuring the pink cricket ball, and would be played at the Adelaide Oval from Thursday 8 December to Monday 12 December.

The two teams are com peting for the Frank Worrell Trophy, named in honour of the former West Indies cap tain and icon. (Sportsmax)

Only Sir Don Bradman (19 in England and 26 in Australia), and Sir Garfield Sobers (29 in West Indies) have achieved the milestone in a country faster.

David Warner, however, missed a golden opportunity to end a three-year Test drought when he fell for 48, while Green didn't bat in the match in his debut Test at home.

West Indies' shorthanded attack was unable to limit Australia, with spearhead Kemar Roach forced off after injuring his left thigh, while seamer Kyle Mayers did not bowl in the innings due to a strain in his right teres major muscle. Adding to their woes, top-order batter Nkrumah Bonner was on day three substituted out of the match with concussion, after being hit in the back of the helmet from a Green short delivery.

But the beleaguered tourists have reached the final day, and their hopes are rested on their gritty skipper.

(Cricinfo)

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Captain Kraigg Brathwaite has scored his 11th Test century to defy an Australian attack without Pat

Cummins as a gutsy West Indies have pushed the first Test into a fifth day.

for the West

Marquino Mindley

Kraigg Brathwaite leaping in celebration

Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul defied Australia

Marnus Labuschagne brought up his ninth Test hundred in the second innings

Calendar focused on Seniors Championship as he ventures into new division

By TimoThy Jaikarran

The National Cultural Centre will come alive when the Guyana Bodybuilding

Fitness Federation’s Seniors Championships are held on December 18, 2022.

Notably, Roger Calendar will be seeking to make an impact when he steps on

stage. In 2021, he won the Under-143 division, but has this year jumped up a weight class, and will now be compet ing in the Under-154 division.

In a chat with this publi

cation, Calendar was asked how he feels now that the com petition is back again, and he said, “My training is on point for this Mr Guyana Show. All the improvements that I have needed to make and wanted to make I have made. I am definitely going into the show with a way better package than the (one I had at the) last show. I had some personal mishaps, but that did not deter me from my training. I kept focus and kept my mind focused on the prize.”

Calendar also related that for this show, his cur rent mindset is ‘focus’, as he is very determined and very ex cited to compete on the stage with the best bodybuilders in Guyana. He opined that the show is going to be very excit ing, and said he cannot wait for it to commence.

Calendar also explained

that this year he has stepped up into the next weight class, which is the under-154 divi sion, and he is very confident of winning the title in this cat egory, which would allow him to go on to the finals to bat tle for the Mr Guyana title in which he placed third in 2021.

“To the bodybuilding fans out there: you will definite ly not be disappointed. Get ready to see all the hard work,

discipline, ded ication and improvements that I have made to pres ent to you an even bet ter package than the last year; and get ready to be amazed,” he posited.

The talented athlete is expressing gratitude to Team Mohamed’s, Zoon, Fitness Express, his cli ents, fans, friends and family members for sup porting him in his jour ney, and has vowed that he would not disappoint them come December 18, 2022.

Since returning to the bodybuilding arena, Calendar has dominated the Under-143 division in 2021, become a sil ver medalist at CAC, and now will be looking to add more tro phies to his cabinet. Calendar was a powerlifter before he ventured into bodybuilding, and in his time, he has record ed some great achievements.

Roger Calendar posing in the Under-143 division in 2021

GBBFF’s Seniors Championships…

guyanatimesgy.com

President’s Cup Region 4 leg…

Four teams to contest exciting semis today

The quarterfinal round of the Region 4 (DemeraraMahaica) leg of the One Guyana President’s Cup InterWard Football tournament was fiercely contested on Thursday and Friday night, and four teams have booked their spots in Sunday’s semifinal round.

At the Ministry of Education Ground (MoE) on Carifesta Avenue on Thursday night, Buxton/Beterverwagting (BV) were forced out of a comfortable lead, and were made to fight hard for their win, while Diamond Grove held on to a slim lead in order to taste victory.

Game 1 saw the eventually victorious Buxton/BV coming up against their East Coast counterparts Mahaica/ Mahaicony.

Buxton/BV appeared to be the better-oiled

unit of the two, and were soon rewarded in the 7th minute, when their first goal came off the boots of Eon Dooker.

Mahaica/Mahaicony were having a difficult time getting past their opponents’ defenses, and much later, Buxton/BV went 2 up by way of a penalty opportunity, taken by Shemar Fraser. It was not until the final minutes of the game that fireworks began exploding when Mahaica/ Mahaicony spurred an emphatic comeback.

First, it was a scoring opportunity by way of penalty. Making the conversion for Mahaica’s first goal was N. Portsmouth. A few minutes later, Keven Shawood spotted a lack in the Buxton defence, and capitalized by connecting his

team’s second and the much- needed equalizing goal.

When extra time bore no fruit, the game went down to the penalty spot, where a flawless Buxton eventually won 5-3 on kicks from the penalty mark.

The following game was a nail biter in which Grove/ Diamond’s composure proved enough to top a stacked West Ruimveldt/Albouystown team.

Grove/Diamond’s opportunity to get ahead came in the 12th minute of the contest, and Lloyd Matthews made no mistake in finishing well. With the slim lead in their hands, Grove/Diamond amplified their defenses, starving their opponents of opportunities until the final whistle was heard.

The following night, another

blockbuster double-header was on the cards for the same venue. In the first fixture, Plaisance/Liliendaal schooled Timehri/St Cuthbert’s/ Swan, while Tucville/South Ruimveldt earned a hard-fought win against Lodge/Wortmanville.

In Game 1, Stephon Matthews opened the scoring for Plaisance/Liliendaal in the 4th minute, after putting their opponents in a stressful situation early on. Pressure mounted in the opening stage of the second half when Seon Vaguhas struck Plaisance’s second goal. With Timehri/St. Cuthbert’s/Swan’s chances going awry, it was smooth sailing for Plaisance/ Liliendaal. T. Garraway added to their tally in the 54th minute, while Seon completed his brace in the 57th to seal his team’s 4-0

victory.

The last of the quarterfinal games saw a clash between Guyana’s powerhouse players, with the Lodge/Wortmanville outfit being put on the defensive almost immediately, as an own goal was gifted to their opponents.

To make matters worse, Daniel Ross connected Tucville/ South Ruimveldt’s second goal in the 28th minute, upping the ante in the already tense encounter. The first half was void of any more goals, but near-misses were plenty on both sides.

Lodge/Wortmanville’s redemption finally came in the 68th minute when Joshua Braitwaite bested Tucville’s Akel Clarke in the nets for his team’s first actual goal. Tucville’s defense went to work in ensuring

there wasn’t a recurrence, and eventually sealed a 2-1 win.

The semifinals of the Region 4 leg of the One Guyana President’s Cup Inter-Ward tournament will be played today at the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF’s) National Training Center (NTC) at Providence.

The first semifinal will see Buxton/BV locking horns with Grove/Diamond, while Plaisance/Liliendaal and Tucville/South Ruimveldt would oppose each other in the second semifinal. Game times are 12.30hrs and 15:00hrs respectively.

The Georgetown final is tentatively set for Tuesday, December 6th, 2022.

It’s only a matter of days before the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue is ignited when the Terrence Ali National Open Championships, regarded as the Holy Grail of amateur boxing on local soil, returns. Regrettably forced into dormancy since 2019 owing to the coronavirus pandemic, the tournament will return to the canvass of the squared circle and take centre stage from December 15th-18th.

Notably, Guyana will be the first to make a historic move at the tournament, one that has only been tried and tested on the international amateur boxing scene. This has all been disclosed by Steve Ninvalle, President of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), on Saturday.

This esteemed event, the final statutory competition to be conducted by the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA),

will provide the perfect culmination of an eventual year for the sport. In an effort to further solidify the tournament’s eminence following the aforesaid absence, and continue the discipline’s developmental thrust, the local governing authority will financially

compensate the top three finishers within each weight class of the Elite Division.

Essentially, the Elite Division, the crème de crème of the local amateur circuit, will receive financial remuneration for finishing in the top three positions [gold, silver, and bronze].

This momentous decision was inspired by, and comes on the heels of, the historic move by the International Boxing Association (IBA) under the stewardship of Umar Kremlev, to increase the prize pool by a mammoth 50% for the 2023 World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from May 1st14th.

With this decision, Guyana becomes the first country in the English-speaking Caribbean to financially compensate its Elite amateur pugilists at the National Championships.

Once again, this is indicative of the GBA’s developmental aim in creating not only an enabling environment for the development of the discipline, but to maintain the nation’s position as the premier amateur hub in the English-speaking Caribbean

region.

GBA President Steve Ninvalle, the architect of this novel idea, has said, “This is a momentous decision by the local body, a choice which was guided and influenced directly by IBA’s resolution and eventual pronouncement to increase the prize pool for the 2023 World Championship.

Amateur boxing at the international level is on the pathway to competitive and financial sustainability given the actions of IBA, and the GBA aims to employ a similar ideology and objective.”

Ninvalle added, “This is a first of its kind in the Englishspeaking Caribbean, a feat that should be recognized, and is the initial step on the path of creating and contributing to a financial ecosystem for local pugilists. We are now firmly part and parcel of the fabric and environment that

the discipline. This is another spectacular day for the discipline.”

‘Dynamite’ Desmond Amsterdam, who is the highest ranked local IBA pugilist on 23, following his outstanding displays at the Commonwealth Games, as well as bronze medal achievements at the Americas Boxing Confederation (AMBC) Championship, and South American Games, will headline the event, alongside 54th ranked Keevin Allicock, who also captured a bronze medal at the South American Games.

According to the GBA, future details of the tournament, inclusive of the financial compensations that will be afforded to the resulting gold, silver, and bronze medalists, will be disclosed soon.

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Lloyd Matthews (on ball) struck the game-winner for Diamond/Grove

It was a defenders’ game when Tucville/South Ruimveldt took on Lodge/ Wortmanville

A glimpse of the contest between Plaisance/ Liliendaal and Timehri/St. Cuthbert’s/Swan