Guyana Times - Sunday, January 23, 2022

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Police Inspector, sister and daughter make the family proud as UG graduates Nationwide coverage coverage from from the the best best news news team team in in Guyana Guyana Nationwide Issue No. 4898 guyanatimesgy.com

THE BEACON BEACON OF OF TRUTH TRUTH THE

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022

Govt targets robust housing plan: 15,000 house lots to be distributed in 2022 Page 7

– construction of 150 core homes part of Budget 2022 Outrage by Guyanese businesses stems from mistreatment by T&T – CPSO Chairman – says two countries should address differences

Page 3

Guyanese business icon Dr Yesu Persaud laid to rest Page 2

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Tax-happy APNU/ AFC now want tax reduction as Opposition – VP Jagdeo P31 GPF mulls P26 laws to govern electric bikes – Divisional Traffic Officer – says motorcyclists are most problematic category of road users

“iMatter” app now puts GBV hotline at the fingertips of victims P24

CANU intercepts boat with P23 60lbs ganja in Canje River

President Dr Irfaan Ali paid final respects to the late Dr Yesu Persaud at his funeral service on Saturday at his residence in Nandy Park on the East Bank of Demerara.

The Head of State was joined by Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud and other officials

US Geological Survey may still 8 COVID deaths, be underestimating potential of 957 new cases Stabroek Block – Norway Group recorded in 24 – says Guyana-Suriname Basin could hours – death toll jumps to 1130 have more than 13.6B barrels of oil Page 27

Page 32

Poor COVID testing service at private P22 lab results in passenger missing flight Guyanese can access $5M to build core homes through CH&PA Home Improvement programme P29

– $500,000 available to improve homes

2 NEWS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyanese business icon Dr Yesu Persaud laid to rest G

uyanese business tycoon, Dr Yesu Persaud was laid to rest on Sunday. The business giant and philanthropist died on Monday at the age of 93.

Scores of persons including President Dr Irfaan Ali attended his funeral service that was held at his Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara residence.

In brief remarks, President Ali hailed Dr Persaud for his many contributions towards the improvement of Guyana, stating that his family and the entire Guyanese community have lost an extraordinary soul who lived an extraordinary life.

“As President, his examples in life is an inspiration and motivation to me to serve people with humility, simplicity and to do so to the best of my ability. He was never short of advice for me. He was very strong in his conviction about national unity. He was very strong in his conviction about

President Dr Irfaan Ali at the funeral on Saturday

the rule of law. He was very strong in his conviction for culture and religion, and he was strong in his conviction that we could do better for Guyana,” the Head of State told the gathering.

Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud; members of the diplomatic corps including India’s High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr K J Srinivasa,

and representatives from the Private Sector including Dr Persaud’s successor at the DDL Group, Komal Samaroo, also attended the funeral service.

Dr Persaud is known for his many wise and profitable investments and for the conceptualising and building of key institutions that now serve Guyana’s banking and financial sectors well.

Some highlights include his service as Executive Chairman of Diamond Liquors Limited and Managing Director of the Demerara Sugar Company.

He is also credited with achieving a business miracle in regard to Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) and Demerara Bank Limited, which stands out in the economic history of Guyana. He was also the founder of the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED).

The Private Sector Commission (PSC) has said the business community would forever be grateful for the astute and wise leadership Dr Persaud provided in the early days during the return of democracy to Guyana, and particularly his role in the birth of the Commission.

Nationally, he has been awarded the Golden Arrow of Achievement for his works in developing and expanding the distilling industry in Guyana,

President Dr Irfaan Ali consoling grieving relatives at the funeral

and the Cacique Crown of Honour for the development of new industries.

Cola International-Slice, the Gandhi Organisation Plaque, the inaugural Indo

Some of the close friends and business associates of the Late Dr Yesu Persaud

Internationally, Dr Persaud has received several awards, including the Pepsi

Male Lifetime Award, the Glory of India Award, and the Certificate of Excellence.

NEWS

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Sunday, Jan 23 – 09:00h – 10:30h and Monday, Jan 24 – 09:00h – 10:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Sunday, Jan 23 – 07:40h – 09:10h and Monday, Jan 24– 08:20h – 09:50h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY There will be sunshine during the day. Expect partly cloudy skies at night. Temperatures should range between 20 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Northerly to North North-Easterly between 1.78 metres and 5.36 metres.

High Tide: 08:04h and 20:27h reaching maximum heights of 2.5 metres and 2.51 metres.

Low Tide: 13:58h reaching a minimum height of 0.71 metre.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2022

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Outrage by Guyanese businesses stems from mistreatment by T&T – CPSO Chairman – says two countries should address differences

G

ervase Warner, Chairman of the controversial Caricom Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) – the regional body which has been on the receiving end of outrage by Guyanese citizens and local businesses after expressing concerns with the country’s recently-passed local content law – believes that the situation escalated because of the way Guyanese businesses have been treated by Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) over the years.

Earlier this month, a leaked email came to light detailing concerns of members of CPSO over Guyana’s recently-passed local content law and plans to reach out to the Guyana Government, and ultimately Caricom.

The main contention is that the law, which makes provisions for Guyanese persons and Guyanese businesses to exclusively benefit from the country’s oil and gas sector at specified percentages, violates certain provisions of the Caricom Treaty of Chaguaramas.

The email was signed

by Warner, in his capacity as President and Chief Executive Officer of Trinidadbased regional conglomerate, Massy Group, which currently operates business in several sectors in Guyana.

The leaked correspondence had sparked widespread public outrage in Guyana with various Private Sector representatives and stakeholders highlighting the many instances that other Caribbean countries, especially Trinidad and Tobago,

Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) President, Timothy Tucker

violated the regional Treaty with their own local content policies but never faced any ramifications.

However, during a recent interview with the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, Warner said the reaction coming out of Guyana cannot be ignored.

“Honestly, I think it is a big opportunity. It is kind of interesting how this became so acrimonious so quickly,” Warner said to the T&T newspaper.

According to the article, the businessman said with the issues now brought to the surface, there is an opportunity for the business communities in both countries to get together and address their differences.

“I don’t believe you can ever address any issue until it is on the table… I am happy the issue is on the table because that response you can’t step over it you can’t notice it and so I believe that this is a really great opportunity for us to do some healing

between T&T and Guyana, T&T business, and Guyanese business,” Warner was quoted to have said.

Warner, the Guardian further reported, believes that there is a lot of history between the Caricom neighbours, hence they need to find ways to work better together.

“This did not happen last week, this is decades, scores of years of stuff building up over time… That had nothing to do with that leaked email that has everything to do with a history of how the Guyanese feel they have been treated by T&T, and T&T business and quite frankly I think it is a great opportunity for us to listen to them and for us to be part of a healing conversation,” the businessman opined in the article.

However, Warner’s push for cooperation between the two business communities comes on the heels of several calls being made for Guyana to consider exiting the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME). But it was pointed out that T&T also has laws on its books that give preference to its local companies but CPSO has never challenged them.

Removing Guyanese local content laws would allow TT to retain its advantage.

In fact, only last weekend, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Timothy Tucker had argued that Guyana has always been short-changed within the regional bloc when it comes to trade.

CPSO Chairman and President of Massy Group, Gervase Warner

He highlighted the disparity between Guyana’s exports and imports in the Caribbean, showing that Guyana imports far more than it exports to the region.

Tucker noted that these disparities told the story of who are the real beneficiaries of CSME when it comes to trade and who had the most to lose if Guyana were to exit the framework.

“The disparity in reference to the imbalance of trade between Guyana and the Caribbean, it’s something that needs to be noted. The entire Caribbean refers to Guyana as possibly being the breadbasket of the Caribbean, but yet they have numerous amounts of non-tariff barriers preventing us from attaining that goal… Now if we’re going to continue along this road and those countries want to do trade with Guyana, they need to move those barriers and allow Guyana to enter those markets,” the GCCI President had stated.

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guyanatimesgy.com

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022

Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544 223-7230,223-7231,231-0544, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, marketing@guyanatimesgy.com

End the discourse of hate

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arratives play a critical role in our historical accounts: not least to act as filters for events as they occur in the world around us. These narratives are part of a whole welter of formal and informal processes, language and performance – dubbed “discourses” - that serve to fix the acceptable meaning of a given notion, and literally “hail” it into existence.

While not denying the importance of other structural features, discourses are most crucial, because they sanction certain kinds of action and not others. In times of heightened tension and conflict, narratives and discourses link individual and group identities, producing a sense of intertwined fate among groups. When violence is in the air, the fears also include concern for physical security and fears of extinction of self, family, and the group and its culture. Political actions – and reactions - are therefore highly influenced by the dominant discourses circulating at any given time.

The power of discourses lies in their ability to naturalise a particular way of interpreting something - be it an ethnic group or a strategy for political struggle. In Guyana, there have been discourses of hate that have marred our politics and social relations. It is useful to examine their production, dissemination and consumption in our society in order to note their effects. Discourses are rarely constructed out of thin air, but are built on previous narratives and themes that are topical. The discourse of “sin and sinners” played a large part in the larger black-white binary discourse to justify the genocidal treatment of Africans and other “natives” during and after slavery. They both loom large in our national psyche.

There are two parts to the construction of identity within discourse: firstly, the creation of the ‘other’ – with all negative qualities; and secondly, the comparison of that ‘other’ to the self – the antithesis imbued with all the “good” qualities. The archetypal binary hegemonic discourse owed its success to its divisive framing of the identities in play, as well as to the ‘truthful’ nature it attributed to that framing.

After a brief moment of “us” (all Guyanese) against “them” (the British), the struggle for independence introduced complications into the narrative. Between 1958 and 1964, it was “the PPP Government locking African-Guyanese out of development” (African narrative constructed by the PNC) or a “communist Government determined to deliver B.G. into Moscow’s arms” (the narrative of the West).

During the PNC regime of 1964-1992, after a virtual civil war between Indian- and African-Guyanese, the former’s narrative was of marginalisation through “racial” policies of a Government dominated by their African-Guyanese political opponents. After 1992, while the table turned, the “us “against them” discourse between Indians and Africans remained in place. Between 1993 and 1997, the discourse was sharpened by PNC claims of “ethnic cleansing” and other excesses of the PPP, and precipitated anti-Indian Guyanese riots after assertions that the 1997 elections were rigged.

As dozens of Indian-Guyanese businessmen were killed amidst a slew of robberies and kidnappings, African-Guyanese ideologues revived the narrative of “overcoming oppression”.

Matters degenerated into a full-scale assault against the state and perceived supporters of the PPP by violent terroristic gunmen. The latter were dubbed “Resistance Fighters”. In a tit-for-tat response when the state institutions mandated to protect it buckled, armed “Phantom Gangs” engaged the Armed Gangs, and hundreds of citizens from all ethnic groups were killed across Guyana. The gangs were eliminated by 2008 and electoral politics resumed to resolve differences among the citizenry.

Because of demographic changes, the 2011 elections saw the PPP receiving only a plurality of votes to secure the presidency, while the Opposition APNU and AFC controlled the legislature. In 2015, the Opposition parties coalesced and won the elections outright. Unfortunately, after a studied refusal to follow constitutional rules, the APNU/AFC refused to accept defeat at the 2020 elections. The details need no reprisal. What is troubling is a revival of the narratives of hate by representatives of African-Guyanese inside and outside APNU. This is the time for a national narrative, since there is now the certainty that each of the two major parties, concededly grounded in ethnic communities, can only secure the Government if they garner votes outside their bases.

President Dr Irfaan Ali consoling the wife of the late business tycoon Dr Yesu Persaud at a private funeral service on Saturday. The philanthropist died at the age of 93

GECOM must stop ‘pussy-footing’ and hold local government elections!

Dear Editor, A sense of uneasiness and uncertainty still prevails concerning approaches by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), to deliver on its constitutional mandate. This fact and its consequential related perceptions, ought to be the driver for strong, speedy corrective and remedial actions.

Please permit my highlight a few areas informing a lingering nationwide concern’ that emanate from the Commission’s seemingly self-convinced attempts to convey that ‘slow pace’ implies the conduct of an acceptable and transparent process.

Rather, the focus of the principals seems distorted, and the lack of, or delayed constitutional delivery is being more and more affected by these eroding of confidence internal processes. The holding of Local Government Elections (LGEs) which is now way beyond the statutory period is just one of the critically affected areas.

This created ‘pussy-footing’ syndrome dilemma must be countered, given the embarrassing March to June 2020 elections results fiasco. With the abundance of evidence against the former CEO Keith Lowenfield led cabal that challenged and frustrated the Authority of the Commission, one would have thought that GECOM having the legal authority, would have immediately moved to have forensic examinations of the undercurrents and contaminants. All of the persons within the close clutches of the former CEO should be keenly scrutinized.

It is indeed most disgusting to read and listen about the former controversial GECOM Secretariat and ‘rogue” em-

ployee Duarte Hetsberger's attempts to get re-employ at the institution. There should be no hesitation for the Commission to call in the police to do their work under Section 19 of the Cybercrime Act. There must be no consideration to reverse his termination as his alleged played a central role in the big Cabal that had their knees on this Nations ‘neck’ for five long months.

A full investigation must be done concerning the clean sweep of the data from several GECOM computers, and a thorough investigation conducted of all the internal that took place in preparation for the 2020 National and Regional Elections. Given the absence of an elections report from the CEO, the commission and new CEO should carefully review the activities that took place over the five months after the Elections including the massive spending and illegal activities that went on during the five months after March 02, 2020.

It is essential for GECOM to swiftly ensure it has onboard, a cadre of transparently selected professionals to advance its mandate. The advertising process for filling vacancies created by recent firings of the Chief Elections Officers (CEO) and others facing fraudulent electoral charges, commenced in October 2021. Publications of those shortlisted for final interviews and potential selection present the opportunity for exposure if there are known issues. Notably, some rogue elements have been able to get past the initial screening process.

GECOM facilitation of the next LGEs is way overdue, and this is not for want of the PPP/C’s urging and support.

The Government ensured that sufficient funding was placed in the 2021 budget for the holding of these Elections.

These Elections were not held as a consequence of GECOM's inability to do so, due to the absence of a CEO and other Key Secretariat Personnel.

Notably, the PNC agents who have mastered the art of postponing LGEs, are hard at work in trying to ensure further delays.

While former President David Granger kept his promise and held the LGE’s in 2016 and 2018, the PNC now back in opposition, has moved to reinforce their old characteristic ways. Hence, the PPP/C must not step back, but demand that GECOM put all systems in place and hold LGE’s as early as possible. Questions now being advanced by the PNC acolytes regarding a New Voters List must be rubbished as GECOM has legally supported procedures to update the Register of Registrants using the MERLIN database in sync with the General Registration Office.

This updated Register will then be followed by a period of Continuous Registration and then by a short period of Claims and Objections. This in keeping with the usually established precedence, will serve to establish a Preliminary List of Voters; effectively setting the stage for the holding of LGEs. Consequently, the PPP/C Government must never allow any procrastination and delaying of LGEs as it is designed to realize significant parallel community development, in synchrony with the national program. On the contrary, it is the Opposition's proven aim to disrupt the synergies from such programs and to render our citizens dissatisfied.

Chairperson of GECOM Justice Claudette Singh must recognize that she will have to assert herself and be more decisive. This is given that the APNU/PNC/AFC Commissioners are bent on using delaying tactics and always try to put spokes in the smooth path of development.

The several vacancies for key senior positions within the Election Secretariat must be carefully and thoroughly discussed and the best persons must be employed. There must be no place for ‘rogue’ elements!

The timeline for the LGEs MUST be set now! As such, Madam Claudette Singh must put immediately on the agenda the pertinent issues, and carefully let the CEO and his staff provide the Commission a the earliest appropriate period and Schedules, for the holding of LGE. The Commission MUST ensure that the Pussyfooting stops now, allowing the catalyzation of community development initiatives.

While the PPP/C Government is doing an excellent job at the National level, citizens at the Local or ground level must be fully prepared for the further development of the country. Several areas where dynamic Community Leadership is required are suffering from attrition due to unavoidable circumstances. Further, several of the Neighborhood Democratic Councils have become weak and urgently need to be resuscitated through these elections. Hence, with new and urgent LGEs, many vacancies will be filled, and better persons will be in positions to develop the communities.

Sincerely, Neil Kumar

guyanatimesgy.com

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022

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Ego, vanity and a thin bubble Dear Editor, Very often in our lives, we encounter people who insert themselves into the limelight with the sole expectation of attracting attention to their overrated and/ or otherwise insignificant selves.

These thoughts crossed my mind as I read a letter that found its way into the public domain (no doubt deliberately so) which was addressed to the Director of Public Prosecutions by Nigel Hughes. It is an intriguing letter.

I also read an APNU/ AFC post, which described the same Nigel Hughes as one of the best legal brains in Guyana. My immediate reaction was that APNU/AFC was obviously, for more reasons than one, in disagreement with the CCJ on our Court of Appeal decision, following the public advocacy

by Nigel Hughes, that in relation to the now celebrated “no-confidence motion case” that a vote of 33 members in the National Assembly was not the majority of 65, which case saw Hughes recommending “rounding up the half men” in the National Assembly. The CCJ poured

scorn on this notion.

In his letter to the DPP on the death of the Dartmouth resident Boston, Hughes disclosed that apart from Boston’s wife, there were other witnesses whose statements disclosed that Boston’s death was an act of murder. To this, I say, “Nigel Hughes for Crime Chief.”

Mercy! Hughes on a program with David Hinds said publicly, that Boston was sleeping naked in his bed with his wife when he was shot. Now Hughes writes to introduce other witnesses to the death of Boston. These witnesses had to be people peeping into Boston’s bedroom.

Then Hughes advises the DPP that a review of the Standard Operating Procedures for the use of deadly force by the police did not disclose any circumstance which justified the discharge of a deadly weapon by the police when they entered the premises of Mr Boston. The circumstances which confronted the police in the premises of Mr Boston would hardly be explicitly set out in the Standard Operating Procedures of the Guyana Police Force. Those cir-

cumstances would be gathered from the statements of those witnesses, which were reviewed by the DPP and not the statements that investigator Hughes claims to have in his possession.

Further Hughes claims to have instructions about the nature of the instructions issued to the SWAT team on the day of the death of Boston. To this, I say,” Hughes for Commissioner of Police.”

Then stunningly, Hughes informed the DPP that “we are unaware” of any legal basis upon which a charge of manslaughter could have been properly instituted. I am sympathetic to Nigel Hughes’ state of unawareness.

That Nigel Hughes is unaware of the legal basis for the preferment of a charge of manslaughter is of no moment. It is a matter solely for the DPP, having considered the statements of witnesses submitted to her, to determine 1. whether an offence has been disclosed and 2. the nature of the charge to be laid by the police.

Hughes is seeking to direct the DPP, a constitutional officeholder, who is

not under the direction or control of anyone including Hughes himself. As I listened to Nigel Hughes on the David Hinds program, I saw through his veneer of pretended sophistication, his deep guttural tone, and his portrayal of both a knowledgeable and authoritative style and clearly recognized his agenda.

His narrative was dangerous. Speaking as authoritatively as he did, as a person present in Boston’s bed or bedroom would, on the events which occurred at Boston’s home. Nigel Hughes has substantially prejudiced the fair trial rights of the policeman charged with Boston’s death. Such was the damaging contribution of one of the best legal brains.

Since Nigel Hughes holds himself out to be so knowledgeable, I would like to ask him very politely, what he thinks should be the charge, for a man who removes with the intent to conceal, a video recording which captured the details of murder by shooting.

Sincerely, Selwyn Persaud.

Aubrey Norton abandons old, arid position Dear Editor, For the last few weeks, the media and political commentators have been engrossed with the infighting in the PNC/APNU party and particularly with the fortunes of Mr Aubrey Norton who has now emerged as leader of the party.

The PNC/APNU party has long been refusing to accept the results of the last elections which were won by PPP/C and whose government has been recognized worldwide. PNC/ APNU has however been describing the government

as an “installed PPP government” and the chief installer was Mia Mottley, a friend and supporter of the PPP/C and Democracy.

Accordingly, up to now, PNC/APNU has carried out a barrage of awful abuse of Mia Mottley and the Democracy she espoused.

Now Norton has carried out a revolution and has turned away from his party hatefully abusing Mia Mottley as a close friend and supporter of PPP/C and Democracy. Mr Norton has ebulliently and loudly congratulated Mia

Mottley and her party on their sweeping win in the Barbados Democratic elections and has acknowledged Democracy by the ballot box and winner take all.

Mr Norton has moved away from the “installed government” talk which he

has abandoned to his erstwhile colleagues like Jo Harmon. Norton has quietly revolutionized PNC/ APNU politics!

Yours sincerely, Paul Validum Ramlochan

The power of the people Dear Editor, The elections held in Barbados and the subsequent victory to The Barbados Labour Party is firm evidence of People Power at work, or if you would like to rephrase it “Power to the People.” This is something the rest of The Caribbean is noted for, one man one vote, and a result that represents the clear will of the people. I am not so sure of my very own Guyana where the people play a second-place role, or no role at all, where a Chief Elections Officer decides who wins an election.

Interestingly! It is the case of a “selection” runoff of an election, rather than an election, where a vote or vote recount means nothing, but the only voice that matters is that of a bullying opposition or what its CEO Operative dogmatically mandated? The Chief Justice referred to this situation in her ruling as “The lone Ranger” Scenario. This foolishness simply could not stand in a civilized society.

Now, a teacher colleague of mine over here once asked the question, why does Guyana with all its brilliant minds and massive resources still remain a backward state? And my response to her was, we, for decades have been denied that “luxury privilege” of a free and fair election system where we can choose who governs us. For the same reason, we could not see progress.

Choosing our leaders goes hand in hand with progress and development, it is inte-

gral to the entire process, one cannot be achieved except the other is in place.

When there is a free and fair system uncorrupted and free from human manipulations The People’s will would always be seen and felt everywhere in that country. There will first be peace, then progress and development like a fresh aroma will naturally fall in place. For far too long we have languished in the valley of fraudulent and rigged elections, and it is high time that we take our rightful place in the sisterhood of Liberated Caribbean States.

Again, I say long live free and fair elections, and again power and might to The People!

One might be tempted to ask the salient question could there be a wipeout of the opposition in Guyana as it was in Barbados and Grenada? And my answer to that is a resounding no!

For the simple fact that The Proportional Representation System ensures that there would be opposition, that is, so many votes for a seat in parliament. Persons will vote for them make no mistake (Even The Devil has supporters) so there is no need to worry, there will be an opposition in parliament.

The only setback for them - and purely based on their crazy antics in parliament is that there will be a great reduction in the number of seats come next general and regional election.

Respectfully, Neil Adams

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Reframing your perspective in 2022 – Part 2

D

octor's Note: Paws for a Cause - Guyana ("Paws") is a local animal welfare group operating and registered in Guyana as a non-profit inc.

The group works to prevent animal cruelty; to promote humane, ethical, and responsible pet ownership; to advocate for controlling the animal population via spay and neuter campaigns; and to educate the public while pursuing cases of reported animal neglect and abuse. The Group's work extends beyond dogs and cats, and includes all other animal species, including wildlife, in Guyana.

PAWS will occasionally contribute a "Paws Perspective", providing positive considerations that are aligned with the ethos of the PET CARE column.

As promised in last week’s Pet Care column, here is Part 2 of a two-part guest column from PAWS on the value of making a New Year’s resolution linked to having a companion animal in your life.

More Reasons for Adopting/ acquiring a companion animal in 2022 Resolution 3: Make new friends

As adults, it can get harder to make friends as we get older. There are no parents forcing playdates, no school activities, no cousins that you can hang out with when your aunts and uncles visit.

We don't know about you, but we have a hard time keeping up with the newest so-

Paws for a Cause - Guyana

cial media, and we're not that great at Fortnite and Roblux.

If you're an animal lover, you're more likely to strike up a conversation with a fellow animal person about your or their pet; and, many times, a friendship can flourish from there. Since the formation of Paws, we have met so many interesting and kind people who inspire us, support us, and encourage us to keep doing the work that we do. Shy or anxious people may find it easier to overcome the awkwardness of striking up a conversation when a cute animal is the topic of conversation.

Plus, our social media outlets are proof that every animal is photogenic, and will inevitably help you rack up those likes and potential friendships on social media!

Resolution 4: Eat better

Cooking for your pet can help you to cook better for yourself. It is important to educate yourself on the specific foods that are good for your dog and, more importantly, those that are toxic. Meat, as well as some veggies such as pumpkin, sweet potatoes and callaloo are all good for you AND your pup, along with lots of other foods. When you put on a pot for yourself, put one on for your pup as well! Committing to cooking for your dog can reduce the

probability of going out to buy fast food on a regular basis, and will, as a benefit, keep your food budget down.

Resolution 5: Do more charity work

We'd be remiss without mentioning the obvious. If you want to do more good things in 2022, if you want to improve a life or give back to a charity, supporting a local animal welfare group goes such a long way.

Animal rescues have been through cruelty, neglect, abandonment, or a combination of all. Sometimes something as simple as a new toy makes an astounding joy emerge from behind the trauma that an animal has suffered. We are grateful for donations of all types of food, collars, leashes, bowls, towels, cleaning supplies, litter, toys, and the list goes on.

We are also thankful for monetary donations, as they assist in covering the medical treatment for all of our rescues. So, consider how easy it is; when you buy food or items for your pets, why not double your order and drop in for our fosters?

Resolution 6: Spend more time with your pets

If we need to explain this one, then may we refer you to Resolutions 1-5 above? So many of these items intersect

with each other. Taking your pet out for some exercise can mean forging a new friendship, can give you the peace you need to clear your mind, and can lift your spirits. If you want to spend more time with them at home, consider making 'forbidden' sections of your house more animal-proof, putting breakable, dangerous and toxic items out of reach, or you can work on making your pet area more conducive to you spending time there.

We do understand the fatigue, frustration and trauma that the pandemic has inflicted. It has stripped another year of so much joy, frivolity and festivities, and is a lot to deal with on a daily basis.

However, working towards a better version of yourself is not mutually exclusive with supporting animal welfare or caring for your pets, and can easily be seen as complementary. We implore you to reframe your perspective, and hope that you can make 2022 a better and kinder year for yourself and for those around you.

If you'd like to offer comments, support or follow our work, find us on Facebook. com/Pawsforacause.gy, on Instagram @pawsforacause.guyana, subscribe to our YouTube Channel, drop us a line at pawsforacause.20@gmail.com, or visit our website at https:// www.pawsforacausegy. com.

Animal welfare is everyone's business.

You don't have to be an animal person; you just have to be a kind person.

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THE ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORIZATION PROCESS – PART 2

ast week we highlighted the environmental authorization process, ending with the EPA’s decision to not require an Environmental Impact Assessment. In this article, we have stated that there are instances when members of the public object to the Agency’s decision to not require that this study be undertaken. The Environmental Assessment Board (EAB) either upholds or overturns the EPA’s decision. If the Agency’s decision is upheld, the authorization process continues with the submission of Environmental Management Plans and other environmental studies as required. These plans are reviewed, adjustments are made, and the permit is granted.

EIA required There are some proposed projects whose impacts on the environment can be so significant that the Environmental Protection Act in Part IV and the Fourth Schedule mandates that a study be carried out to determine what those impacts would be, and ways to mitigate or ensure that these do not cause substantial damage. That study is called an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and is a tool often used in environmental management and biodiversity conservation.

Scoping After screening, the Agency determines that an EIA should be conducted; a 28-day Public Notice is published, giving the public 28 days from the publication of the notice to make recommendations to the Agency on what should be included in the study. These comments are sent to the EPA’s Executive Director through mail in letters or emails. In an effort to ensure that as many potentially affected stakeholders as possible are captured, meetings are held in communities. During this pandemic, every effort has been made to ensure that this has been done according to recommended guidelines for safety.

Every EIA is carried out by an independent and suitably qualified person or team of persons approved by the EPA. The submissions received from the public as well as the Agency are shared with the consultant, and form the Terms and Scope or Terms of Reference for the EIA. The EIA has three (3) components: an environmental baseline study; an environmental assessment, and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

The EIA is submitted Once the EIA has been completed, it is submitted to the EPA and the developer is required to publish a notice in at least one daily newspaper, notifying the public of this submission. This notice gives the public 60 days from the date of submission to read the EIA, and to make comments on the document. In the public’s interest, the EIA is posted to the EPA’s website, and is placed in public spaces including the National Library and the office of the Regional Democratic Council of the proposed project area. In addition to this, meetings are held to share the major findings of the EIA with potentially affected stakeholders. The EPA will take into account the EAB’s recommendations, the sectoral agency’s recommendations, the public’s comments, and the EPA’s own review, and decide whether or not the project should be approved. Whilst reviewing the EIA, the sectoral agencies would also ensure that the EIA is consistent with any plans, guidelines, regulations, or codes of practice developed by them.

The Environmental Assessment Board (EAB) would recommend to the EPA whether the EIA is acceptable, and the conditions to be attached to the Environmental Permit, should it be granted. Should there be a need for additional information before a decision is made, the developer would be requested to submit such information. A new draft of the EIA, or an addendum if the comments are not significant, should then be prepared by the consultant, and must address the comments of the EPA, the sectoral agency, the public and the EAB. It is essential that the consultants clearly indicate how each comment has to be addressed.

For the approval project, the EPA would issue an Environmental Permit with the terms and conditions necessary to effectively manage the environment, and in accordance with the prescribe fee.

Ensure that you submit your applications for Environmental Authorization, and remember: “The environment is everybody’s business!”

You can share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/O Communications Department, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, GEORGETOWN, or email us at: eit.epaguyana@gmail. com, follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

NEWS

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Govt targets robust housing plan: 15,000 house lots to be distributed in 2022 – construction of 150 core homes part of Budget 2022 W ith the delivery of Budget 2022 just days away, the Government of Guyana is aiming to accelerate an already robust housing plan that will include the distribution of 15,000 house lots for the year.

During an interview with Guyana Times, Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal touched on Budget 2022.

According to him, 2022 plans include the distribution of 15,000 house lots as well as the continuation of the home improvement and subsidy programme.

“I’m pleased about what we’re doing so far. We’ve done a lot and if you think we’ve done a lot, wait till you see

Housing Minister Collin Croal

was happening. We also had to re-examine our commitment and that is 50,000 allocations. And in addition to allocation, to construct houses.”

One of the young professional homes in Providence, East Bank Demerara

what we have planned for 2022. So last year when we started, we had to take stock of what was happening in the housing sector. And our examination showed nothing much

“Our initial budget focused on access roads and bridges to commence, even allocation exercises are done before, for which no infrastructure work was done. Then, in 2021, we had a number of allocations.

In 16 months in office, we’ve allocated 10,000 house lots.

This year, you will find we will allocate at least 15,000,” Croal said.

He also referred to the works that have been going on for the four-lane bypass road from Mandela to Eccles, which has seen six contractors work on completing the important road link under the auspices of the Ministry of Housing and Water.

The bypass project will see a total of 26 kilometres of road constructed, linking two of the country’s main thoroughfares.

This new road link will also be connected to key communities in Georgetown and along the East Bank of Demerara corridor. These include Diamond, Mocha and Eccles – all on the East Bank – and Aubrey Barker Road in Georgetown.

These connections will prove crucial in diverting traffic.

“You saw the commencement of the four lanes from Mandela to Eccles, which is nearing completion by the

The Perseverance Housing Scheme

way. So we’re pleased with what we’ve achieved last year, in terms of our target,” the Minister explained.

The Housing Minister further stated that this budget will cater for persons who have been calling to enquire when they can access their land since millions of dollars in infrastructure work will be rolled out.

When it comes to core homes, Minister Croal explained that there are 50 core homes currently being constructed, with a few of those expected to be handed over in La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD), next week. Additionally, core homes are being constructed in Sophia, ECD, as well as on the WBD. “There are 150 available for construction this year,

that will see 25 more going in Sophia, 25 more going on the West Bank and the others available within the parameters of the boundary. Here on the East Coast, as well as on the East Bank. So those are our programmes this year.

Of course, it will form part of our budget coming up too,” Minister Croal added.

Budget 2022, which will be the third budget under the PPP Government, is due to be read on January 26. It is expected that this budget will be the largest budget of all and will outline development programmes and projects, both continuing and new.

It was revealed by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo that with Government now preparing to present its fiscal plan for 2022, the budget will be partly financed by

Guyana’s earnings from the oil and gas sector. He had explained that by tapping into the oil monies, it will reduce the country’s reliance on external borrowing.

This will be Guyana’s first withdrawal from the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) since the country started collecting revenues from oil production in early 2020 and since oil production in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana started in December 2019.

The Government of Guyana in 2021 has processed close to 2000 titles and transports in its first year in office, while starting construction on 1000 houses and conducting massive infrastructural work… all part of an over $14 billion investment in the housing sector.

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Hypocrisy…

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…in Opposition’s tangled web e’ve been informed, dear readers, that Sanctimonious Granger – Representative of the APNU/AFC List (RAAL) – will be venturing out from his Pearl bunker along with his sidekick, Joseph “Lil Joe” Harmon, to meet AFC Leader and Dep RAAL, Khemraj “Dead Meat” Ramjattan, tomorrow. Your Eyewitness hopes they don’t object to their “false names”, since the former was applied by eminent Caricom leaders, the second by friends, and the last was self-bestowed. Like Hamilton Green describing himself as “Elder” – when all of us know he’s just old…very, very old!!

We don’t know where they’ll be meeting, but based on precedence, it might be somewhere in Cummingsburg??

If so, Khemraj better be forewarned. Remember what happened to that “Accord” signed by them on Valentine’s Day 2015?? Ahh…” St Valentine’s Day…bitter chill it was”!!

We haven’t been informed about the agenda, but you’d have to be living under some rock on in Monkey Mountain if you don’t know what’ll be going down!! It’s a one-item agenda, budday – Screw Norton!!

The cause of all this drama’s very simple, and due to one unfortunately very human emotion – hubris!! These three characters all took themselves a whole lot too seriously as “paramount leaders” in their ponds! Their arrogance knew no bounds – especially Granger. Interestingly, Ramjattan was already cut down to size – almost to dwarf proportions!

– by Granger, and he accepted that without any shame.

Some felt it was some kinda Stockholm Syndrome playing out, while others cynically snorted that it was just plain old avarice and greed to remain at the (governmental) feeding trough!! Those sirens…those outriders!!

The bottom line is Granger and Harmon can’t believe Norton beat them like snakes at the PNC leadership elections. And don’t believe for a moment Granger wasn’t humiliated. Harmon had always been his place-marker, even if he hadn’t read all the vitriol poured on him since Aug 2, 2020. Harmon’s humiliation is his, so they’ll be trying every which way to avoid their nemesis – which follows hubris. Granger will probably have Harmon step down as Opposition Leader – but insist that Roysdale Forde take his place. Granger will also step down as RAAL - but Ramjattan will inherit the post!! This gives HIM clout for his horse trading to survive!!

As Norton turns the screws by consolidating the PNC’s leadership and base, the plotters’ slow twisting in the wind won’t cease. Norton controls the entire Executive, who are all from his slate and are beholden to him. Whatever comes out of the conclave tomorrow, Norton’s gonna be marching out to consolidate the base – which will be easier when he points to Granger and Harmon’s “selfish” actions.

So, what’ll be the catharsis – which follows hubris and nemesis? Continued PNC infighting!! Stock up on popcorn!! …about “anti-Brazilian President” Your Eyewitness was intrigued by the letter from a selfproclaimed woke “Group of 40”, who declared Brazilian President Bolsanaro “persona non grata” here. And the PPP Ali administration shouldn’t improve relations with his country!! Well, look story hey!!

Bolsanaro’s unquestionably guilty of the charges they’ve levelled against him. But some of the woke crowd live in the US, Britain and Canada, whose President and Prime Ministers – past and present - are just as guilty of several of those same charges. Shouldn’t these worthies have done the PRINCIPLED thing and quit those countries for good??

Isn’t continuing to live there supporting the “man”??

Then some of them have recently been rehabilitating Burnham - whose strongman, Hamilton Green, just endorsed their stance!! The irony!! Have they forgotten that Burnham visited Brazil in 1977 to tighten relations when THAT military dictatorship when = actually KILLED thousands of dissidents? Are they boycotting all “Made in China” goods because of China’s actions against their Uyghur minority?

They forgot about countries not having permanent enemies or friends? …on Mia Mottley It had to’ve taken a lot of swallowing of pride for the PNC to congratulate Mia Mottley on her stupendous political achievement in Barbados. They could’ve objected after the recount without getting sooo personal.

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

NEWS

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Tax-happy APNU/AFC now want tax reduction as Opposition – VP Jagdeo T

he Opposition is in no position to lecture anyone on the reduction of taxes based on their track record in office, according to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo who was responding to proposals by the Opposition on measures to bring relief to citizens.

“I find it very strange that a party that demitted office 18 months ago, that has sought to put taxes on every single area, increased taxes by about $40 billion more on basic food items, on medical supplies, would now have any proposal for a budget that seeks to reduce taxes,” the VP said during an interview with the National Communications Network on Friday.

The previous Administration, through their tax measures, had taken disposable income out of the pockets of Guyanese. This could have been seen with the intro-

duction of taxes on education, healthcare, water, and electricity among other areas that affect the livelihood of Guyanese.

Since taking office, the PPP/C Administration has removed those taxes, easing the burden placed on them by the previous Administration through two successive budgets.

Jagdeo said Budget 2022, which will be presented on Wednesday, January 26, will continue to build on the foundation set by the first two budgets.

“We are looking at tax reduction generally, so you may see adjustments on issues like threshold and all of that, but have looked at the disposable income,” he said.

“And that is why we have made it clear that the PNC should look at all the items that they had put the taxes on and we had to remove. They should annual-

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

ise it and see what it brings to Guyana and the people of the country,” the VP further added.

The Vice President said if Government had not removed the slew of burdensome taxes imposed by the coalition, one can only imagine how hard it would have been for Guyanese with the rise in the cost of living globally.

The Opposition also made suggestions on food security, pointing to ways Government can do more to invest in agriculture.

However, the actions and words of the Opposition are not coinciding with their claims, as during their tenure in office the Vice President pointed out that they closed several sugar estates, increased water charges, placed taxes on agricultural machinery, and increased cost for land lease rentals which are just a few to mention.

He said the PPP/C Government has a clear plan for agricultural development as it believes that the non-oil sectors are just as important to Guyana’s development as the oil and gas industry.

The Government has since invested billions of dollars in the agricultural sector which also caters to diversifying the sector. The

sum of $500 million was invested in the planting of corn and soya bean which has proven to be fruitful.

Added to that, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali is leading and encouraging young people to get involved in agriculture.

With that, the VP said “the person who will peddle that or take that statement and replicate it has to be a person who never looked at APNU’s policy carefully or is probably new to Guyana.”

The National Budget will be presented by Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh.

Last week, the PNCR listed a number of proposals that can bring immediate relief to various segments of our population.

These include an increase in the income tax threshold to $1.5 million or 1/3 of gross earnings, whichever is higher, from the present $780,000; change in the income tax

PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton

law to ensure that the minimum wage is never taxed; restructuring the income tax rates from the current 27 per cent and 40 per cent and payment of an interim increase in wages and salaries to public servants of 10 per cent pending the start and finalisation of Government/Union talks on wages and other benefits for all workers.

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NEWS

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Outrage by Guyanese businesses...

FROM PAGE 3

Yesu and economic growth

W

ith the discovery of oil off our shores, there is much talk about economic growth and development, and how to make it “sustainable”. The passing of business tycoon Yesu Persaud reminded me of a comment by Robert Lucas, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who pioneered “endogenous growth” theory. While, like the “exogenous school”, the role of technological progress for growth is stressed, internal factors like “human capital”, Ravi Dev as stressed by Lucas, are critical.

Human capital embodies the skills and knowledge in the labour force which can be augmented by further education that leads to an increase in their productivity.

So how does Yesu’s life enter the picture? While his work is quite esoteric, in his 2001 book, “Lectures on Economic Growth”, Lucas cited: “V.S. Naipaul’s great novel of economic development, A House for Mr. Biswas…(He) is born in rural Trinidad, a grandson of immigrants who had come from India as indentured servants. As a small boy, his ambition is to become a herder of cattle like his older brothers. (But) his life is a story of amazing progress.

By the end of Biswas’s life, his oldest son, Anand —Naipaul’s own fictional counterpart — is a scholarship student at Oxford…

Through all his misfortunes and setbacks, Mr. Biswas is able to maintain the sense of himself as a man with possibilities, with options, a man who is in a position to set limits on what he will put up with. And equally important, he lives in a society that will let him survive with this attitude.” Lucas was stressing the role of education and human agency in generating growth at the micro (Naipaul) level, and cumulatively at the macro level.

Naipaul had, of course, received his Nobel in 2001.

But I believe Yesu’s life epitomises Lucas’s point more aptly as a story of Girmitiya progress. Born in a logie at Diamond Estate, to which his great-grandfather had been “bound” from Uttar Pradesh in 19th century India, Yesu was born in 1928.

He was one of the first in the estate to actually graduate from primary school in 1943. This illustrates his parents’ drive to educate him, since so many other children were sent to work to supplement the family’s income during the Great Depression.

In 1939, when Yesu was 11, five workers at Leonora were shot and killed for protesting working conditions. Diamond and Leonora were owned by the same company.

Poverty did force him to leave high school(s) in Georgetown in 1945 to work in the kitchen at Atkinson Airfield (now CJIA).

This had been built and run by the Americans during the war, and exposed him to new possibilities. Unfortunately, malaria forced him to quit, only to experience class and colour discrimination in Georgetown’s commercial sector while job hunting. Forced to accept menial jobs, he returned to Diamond Estate in 1947 at age eighteen. He did a variety of low-level jobs in the fields, but being diligent, was promoted to supervise cleaning cane punts. On each job, he applied the motto of his parents: to learn a job and always improve one’s performance. This was Arrow’s “learning by doing”, which the endogenous growth school extolled.

But post-WWII had opened up further vistas – one of them being England, where he could educate himself formally. Now married, he emigrated in 1954, at 27, to study accountancy, and qualified while working in factories, before landing an accounting job where he excelled. He returned to Guyana in 1966 to work in the Government’s taxation department. In 1975 he landed a job with Diamond Estate corporate owner’s Sandbach Parker subsidiary as Chief Finance Officer.

In 1976, the PNC would nationalise the entire sugar industry, along with their two distilling operations – Diamond Liquors Ltd (DLL) and Guyana Distilleries Ltd (GDL). Yesu had assisted in nationalisation negotiations, and was made Chairman of the merged Guyana Liquour Company (GLC) in 1983 on his initiative. He continued making a series of critical decisions that exemplified the power of human capital and his drive to succeed. Not the least was to strategically diversify away from supplying bulk rums by creating and marketing the premium bottled 15-year-old El Dorado brand as a worldclass product in 1992. That he presciently bought out the trademark for a brand with that name, and recently secured Geographical Indications was typical for him.

Founding Demerara Bank and IPED, and pushing for a democratic environment further exemplified his developed human capital and Girmitiya, parental-imparted drive for success. Guyana needs more Yesus for economic development.

According to Tucker, the removal of non-tariff barriers, which are trade restrictions put in place by countries to protect their own local industries, would create a level playing field in the region for trade.

Meanwhile, some Private Sector operators in Guyana have raised questions about the CPSO, specifically its composition.

The membership of the CPSO comprises Private Sector entities operating in the Caricom space, including micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The Organisation had said in a recent statement that it is “the most recently-accredited Associate Institution of the Caribbean Community” and is to act as the “apex” institution for the private sector in Caricom, with a mandate to contribute to the full implementation of the Caricom Single Market and Economy.

While CPSO is chaired

by Warner, among its Board of Directors is Guyanese businessman Suresh Beharry, who has since distanced himself from the posture taken by the organisation.

However, several officials from the various major Private Sector bodies in Guyana have indicated that they were not consulted or even aware of the establishment of the regional organisation until the email was leaked.

To this end, one of these bodies, the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber

(GOGEC) has lobbied Caricom to suspend its recognition of CPSO. GOGEC’s President, Manniram Prashad, led a team to meet with the Secretary General of Caricom, Dr Carla Barnett, last Thursday to voice concerns.

Following the meeting, Prashad, a former Commerce Minister of Guyana, told Guyana Times, “We’re not attacking Caricom… however,

the CPSO appointment is flawed and we’re asking them to correct it. The Secretary General admitted that not only Guyana, but she’s also gotten complaints from other organisations outside of Guyana.”

“So we asked her to do a couple of things. One, suspend the recognition of CPSO. We also asked to establish a body or committee to look at how this organisation was established.

And I’m going to be writing to all the Heads of State…

And she accepts that I’ll write all the Heads of State.

So, we want them to suspend recognition or organise a forum where we can fix this thing properly. She was very cooperative and I want to congratulate her.

She was very professional and we felt very happy with our meeting,” Prashad added.

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FEATURE

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‘Pretty Local’ Anselia Ranny has carved a niche market for Indigenous foods

Anselia Ranny and her husband during one of many trips out of town, as the couple source Indigenous supplies for their business in the city

By Alva Solomon

A

s many Guyanese with Indigenous roots move to the city in pursuance of various quests, their search for foods they are accustomed to consuming at home can be daunting. Over the past three years, however, Anselia Ranny has discovered that she can fill that vacuum by supplying various wild meats, fish, and staples which are usually hard to find in Georgetown.

Popularly known as ‘Pretty Local’, a name given to her by her supportive husband, Anselia Ranny has grown accustomed to her customers asking for “Pretty” as they purchase their supplies at the family’s home on the railway

line at Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara.

The petite businesswoman sells a host of Indigenous foods, which come from almost every administrative region of the country. Her list of supplies includes ‘wild hog’, ‘bush cow’, labba, venison (deer meat), and a variety of fish, including the in-demand Hiamarra fish, ‘Basha’ and the Lukanani, just to name a few. Another species of fish, called Tipicuru, is the most-sought-after fish, but according to Ranny, it is extremely difficult to source.

Those products are usually sourced from Regions Seven and Eight.

In terms of the staples, she supplies farine, which is sourced from the Rupununi, and cassava

bread, which she sources from Region One. She says she would also source supplies of cassareep from that region.

How it all started

During an interview at her home last week, Ranny noted that, some three years ago, she decided to create a business after persons began visiting her for supplies of Indigenous foods. She explained that, prior to that time, she would bring small supplies of wild meat and other foods from the hinterland for resale in the city.

Hailing from the village of Kamarang in Region Seven, Ranny noted that persons would ask her about other foods in addition to the ones she sup-

plied. “So then I started to bring more goods,” she explained.

During this time, she decided to address the legal aspects of her business.

She noted that she registered the business and contacted the wildlife authorities to ensure her business was also registered with that entity.

“I had to ensure that it was registered, because it became a business that I was doing regularly,” she added.

Then things kicked off, and she built up a network of contacts across the country, whom she would call or receive calls from.

Such persons trade in various Indigenous products, including fish and wild meat.

She says she receives plenty of support from her husband, and the couple would drive down to various ports from the city, such as Charity on the Pomeroon, where they would collect their supplies for resale. She says that demand for her products has been growing steadily over the years, and she noted that in the month of September, during Indigenous Heritage celebrations, there is a higher-than-normal demand for her products.

Ranny’s husband holding two of several large ‘sweet water’ fish which the couple bought from suppliers during one of their trips out of the city

Challenges

In regard to the challenges she faces, Ranny says that since she has to source the items, it can sometimes be difficult to find particular type of foods, such as the Tipicuru fish. She says she has customers who would ask for certain types of products, and on occasions she would find it difficult to source those items. To meet this demand, she has been

working to expand her network of suppliers across the country.

She also noted that there are certain foods, such as the Hiamara fish, which are available seasonally. While this is understandable, she noted, some customers would nevertheless usually make requests for the products.

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FEATURE

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Police Inspector, sister and daughter make the family proud as UG graduates

By Alva S olomon

W

hen Police Inspector Fiona Fredericks commenced attending classes at the University of Guyana in 2018, she had wanted to give up. The late classes were especially daunting, and when a gunman robbed her of her belongings as she awaited transportation one night after class, she knew the task ahead would be tough.

But this February, Fredericks, who read for a Degree in Public Management, would be graduating alongside her daughter and sister, a feat which the family circle has already begun to celebrate.

Her second daughter, Roshanna, is graduating with a Diploma in Biology, while her sister, Betsy Brown, read for a Degree in Emergency Nursing, a residency programme.

According to Inspector Fredericks, when she commenced studies at UG’s Turkeyen Campus in 2019, she wanted to drop out after only the first week of classes. “The first Thursday I had a politics class, and it was late, and I reached home after 10pm that night,” she said. She

was exhausted, and the new routine was difficult to adjust to.

She said she spoke to her teenage daughters and they encouraged her to continue studying. “They said, ‘Mom, this is what you wanted, you go and study’,” she recalled. She said this motivated her, since her family is always her biggest support group.

Fredericks, who is attached to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the GPF, noted that being a Police officer and studying at the same time isn’t easy. She said at one point she was working the day shift, and she was then placed on the night roster. She noted that this posed a challenge, but she managed to overcome.

She said she recalled a senior officer, whose name she chose not to mention, telling her that she “isn’t UG material, and that I would not make it through university.” This, she said, motivated her to commence studies and, at the same time, she continued praying, adding that she always believes in prayers. She pointed out that her colleagues at UG were always on hand to assist her whenever she was in need of help with her studies.

She said she started out by completing a programme at the Institute for Distance and Continuing Education (IDCE), after which she applied to UG and gained admission to the Social Sciences programme.

Fredericks noted that, in the years gone by, she had never, in her wildest dreams, thought she would be attending university.

As a child, while growing up at Hosororo Hill in the Mabaruma sub-region of the North West District, alongside her sister Betsy and other siblings, she said she would one day follow her academic goals.

“I learnt that with God all things are possible,” she added during the interview.

She said her daughter Roshanna is heading towards completing the degree programme in Biology. She said her daughter, who is a former student of St Roses High School, excelled at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams, and continues to do well at UG. Regarding her Diploma in Biology, Fredericks said her daughter passed with distinction.

She noted that all three of

Nurse Betsy Brown, Fredericks’s sister, would also graduate with a degree this year

her daughters are at UG. Her eldest daughter is also reading for a Degree in Public Management, while her youngest daugh-

ter is reading for a Degree in Psychology.

Fredericks’s sister Betsy told Guyana Times that she is also on an academic journey, one which began since she was in her early 20s.

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FEATURE

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Wakenaam boy excels at CSEC 2021, awarded region's top Business student

Naresh Jagnanan and one of his sisters at the graduation ceremony

By Raywattie Deonarine

D

espite the pandemic and poor internet connectivity in Wakenaam Island, Region Three, 17-year-old Naresh Jagnanan, a former student of Essequibo Islands Secondary School, has managed to secure 11 grade ones at the 2021 Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC), and has emerged as the region’s top business student.

His outstanding achievement has also placed him 2nd for Region Three.

The smart and intelligent young man was ecstatic at the news of his achievement, which was relayed to him by the principal of the Essequibo Islands Secondary School. During an interview with Sunday Times, Jagnanan, the youngest of his parents’ children, has credited his success to late-night study and extra lessons; and also to God and his parents and teachers for their support and encouragement, while adding that his hard work and sacrifices over the past five years have paid off.

TURN TO PAGE 18

18 FEATURE

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Wakenaam boy excels at CSEC...

"I didn't have any struggle growing up. My parents, who didn't have much, made sure that I gain the necessary financial support…words of encouragement and appreciated love that every student deserved, especially in these unparalleled times."

The young man said when asked what were his struggles growing up.

Jagnanan is very passionate about education, not just academically, but holistically, as life in itself is a learning experience. He also has a strong passion for numbers, by ascension Mathematics, Finance, Accounting, and Economics.

"My love for accounting started off as a hobby by helping my colleagues and schoolmates, and by usually securing hundred percent in Principles of Accounts at my school… However, I realised that accounting was my destiny, and I know that I can optimally and effectively contribute to Guyana's development in that very field."

Jagnanan told this publication.

Because of his passion for education, the young scholar began to lay the foundation of his career path in the Business and Accounting field. He is currently pursuing a FIA Diploma at Cacique

FROM PAGE 17

Naresh Jagnanan uplifting an award at Essequibo Islands Secondary School

Naresh Jagnanan with family members

Accounting College, from whence he would then progress to an ACCA qualification to further his knowledge in accounting.

Jagnanan is planning to

simultaneously enroll at the University of Guyana in the next semester. As a result of his excellent performance and passion for education, Jagnanan received a schol-

arship from the Ministry of Education, for which he is extremely grateful.

When asked what he does leading up to the exams, Jagnanan said, "I start-

ed revision as early as possible. Reviewed the content of all my textbooks; spent many nights working past papers and other questions; burned the midnight oil with my educators, who took their personal time to provide more knowledge about the syllabus content to us, and ensured that I am knowledgable about every specific objective in the CSEC syllabus."

However, Jagnanan urges his peers and students who would be writing the upcoming CSEC examinations to work hard but find a balance with academic and leisure time. He posits that students should take his advice and ‘burn the midnight oil’.

"Every student should try their best in their studies…

(Burn) the midnight oil, work hard, but don't forget to take care of your mental health, because it is very important… It is very infrequent to see a student from the small island of Wakenaam receiving a regional award, and initially I was very astonished, as well as my relatives.

Nevertheless, I felt a great sense of pride and honour to receive the regional award for the best student in business studies, and I am unapologetically exhilarated to represent not just my school and island, but my country on a regional scale." The young man has said.

19

FEATURE

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

HEALTH TIPS

MANAGING PAINFUL PERIODS

Dr. Tariq Jagnarine Family Medicine, Endocrinology/Diabetes

I

t’s common for women to feel discomfort around the abdomen, lower back and thighs when menstruating. During periods, the muscles of the womb contract and relax to help shed the built-up lining. Sometimes women can experience cramps, which means their muscles are at work. Some people may also experience: * Nausea * Vomiting * Headaches * Diarrhoea

The cause is not clear as to why some people who menstruate experience painful symptoms and others don’t. Some factors associated with more intense pain include: * Having a heavy menstrual flow * Having their first child * Being under the age of 20, or just starting their period * Having an overproduction of, or sensitivity to, prostaglandins - a type of compound in the body that influences the womb Other factors include: * Growths in the uterus * Endometriosis (abnormal uterine tissue growth) * Use of birth control For mild to temporary cramps, some home remedies can help provide relief.

Here are some tips on getting fast relief and learning how to potentially lessen the pain during the next menstrual

1. Taking over-the-counter (OTC) medications Nonsteroidal

an-

ti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the primary over-the-counter (OTC) form of pain relief recommended for menstrual pain and heavy menstrual bleeding. NSAIDs include ibuprofen (Advil) and Diclofenac.

These drugs help lower the body’s production of prostaglandin. NSAIDs are not as effective as oral contraception at lowering prostaglandin, but they can help reduce pain.

2. Applying heat

Applying heat to the abdomen and lower back may relieve pain. A 2018 review of studies found that heat therapy (usually a heat patch or pack) was as effective at treating menstrual pain as NSAIDS. It also may cause fewer side effects. However, the authors noted that more research is needed. If persons don’t have a hot-water bottle or heating pad, take a warm bath or use a hot towel. Or, they can make their own heating pad: 1. Cut and sew together two pieces of fabric, leaving

a hole at the top.

2. Fill with uncooked rice and sew up the hole.

3. Microwave for a few minutes to the desired temperature. Don’t overheat!

4. Let cool, if necessary.

Or, wrap the homemade pad in a towel to reduce heat transfer. Reuse as necessary.

3. Massaging with essential oils

Massage therapy for about 20 minutes can help.

Massage therapy for menstruation involves pressing specific points while the therapist’s hands move around a woman’s abdomen, side, and back.

Adding essential oils for an aromatherapy style of massage may have additional benefits.

A 2018 review of studies found that massage therapy and aromatherapy can reduce menstrual pain.

Some essential oils that may help include: lavender, peppermint, rose, fennel

4. Having an orgasm

While there are no clin-

ical studies on the direct effect of orgasms on menstrual cramps, science suggests it may help. Vaginal orgasms involve the whole body, including the spinal cord, which signals the release of neurotransmitters. A vaginal orgasm can trigger the brain to release neurotransmitters such as endorphins and oxytocin.

Endorphins can decrease pain perception.

5. Avoiding certain foods

During menstruation, it’s a good idea to avoid foods that cause bloating and water retention.

Some of the biggest culprits include fatty foods, alcohol, carbonated beverages, caffeine, salty foods.

Reducing or cutting out these foods can help alleviate cramps and decrease tension.

Try soothing (caffeine-free) ginger or mint teas, or hot water flavoured with lemon instead. In case a sugar fix is needed, snack on fruits such as strawberries or raspberries.

6. Adding herbs to dietary meals

These herbal remedies contain anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic compounds that can reduce the muscle contractions and swelling associated with menstrual pain.

RELIEF FOR PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME (PMS) SYMPTOMS

Curcumin, a natural chemical in turmeric, may help with symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

A 2015 study looked at 70 women who took two capsules of curcumin for 7 days before their period and 3 days after. Participants reported a significant reduction in PMS symptoms.

Caution

Always make sure the purchase of herbs and supplements is from a reputable source, as they are not regulated. While most of these herbal remedies have few side effects, check with a doctor before trying them.

TURN TO PAGE 21

20 FEATURE

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

‘Pretty Local’ Anselia Ranny has...

As regards competition, she says she is aware there are other persons who supply Indigenous products, but she noted that everyone has their own customers as well as unique products. “So, for instance, I would be the one supplying wild meat, while another person would have crabs or other type of fish,” she said. She noted that it is a business in which customers have choices for various supplies of Indigenous foods.

During the interview, Ranny displayed several supplies of fish, wild meat

and cassareep which she had on hand. Then a customer showed up asking for wild meat, and as the time passed, she received more phone calls from customers with various requests. She related that the business keeps her busy, so much so that she has learnt to drive, and recently she obtained her driver’s licence so that she could make the trips for supplies when her husband is unavailable.

In terms of marketing, she says she would make deliveries in bulk, or customers would visit her business at Vryheid’s Lust,

FROM PAGE 13

where she erected a ‘Pretty Local’ sign, making it easy to find her business. In addition, her business has a Facebook page, and yes, one can easily guess the name -Pretty Local - which is just a click away.

The young businesswoman noted that she plans to expand her business by adding additional Indigenous products to her supplies’ list. She also plans to label her products under the ‘Pretty Local’ brand, a name which is becoming synonymous with Indigenous foods in the city.

Ranny says she buys a variety of Indigenous goods, including farine, for resale in the city

Anselia Ranny, posing during a light moment

FEATURE

21

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

HEALTH TIPS MANAGING PAINFUL...

FROM PAGE 19

Some herbs may also cause unintended side effects, especially if they’re taken with medication. Most of these herbs and supplements also do not include specific instructions for menstrual periods. The doctor may have more information on dosage recommendations.

IMPACT OF DIET AND EXERCISE

Maintaining a healthy diet and keeping up a regular exercise regimen can go a long way towards preventing menstrual pain. A 2016 study of 250 women found significant differences between period pain in women who maintained a nutritious diet, exercised regularly, and reduced stress.

DIET

Generally, a diet geared toward decreasing menstrual pain should be high in minimally processed foods, fibres, and plants.

Give these foods a try: * Papaya is rich in vitamins. * Brown rice contains vitamin B6, which may reduce bloating. * Walnuts, almonds, and pumpkin seeds are rich in manganese, which eases cramps. * Olive oil and broccoli contain vitamin E. * Chicken, fish, and leafy green vegetables contain iron, which is lost during menstruation. * Flaxseed contains omega-3s with antioxidant properties, which reduce swelling and inflammation.

Boron

Boron is a mineral that helps the body to absorb calcium and phosphorus. It also reduces menstrual cramps.

A 2015 study that looked at 113 university students found that boron reduced the intensity and length of menstrual pain.

Foods with a high concentration of boron include: avocados, peanut butter, prunes, chickpeas, bananas.

Women can also take boron supplements if their diet doesn’t provide enough. However, they should consult their doctor before taking boron supplements.

Water

It sounds odd, but drinking water keeps the body from retaining water, and helps to avoid painful bloating during menstruation. Warm or hot water is usually better for cramps, as hot liquids increase blood flow to the skin, and may relax cramped muscles.

Hydration can also be increased by eating water-based foods, including lettuce, celery, cucumbers, watermelon, berries, including strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries

Calcium

This mineral can help reduce muscle cramping during menstruation. Foods high in calcium include: dairy products, sesame seeds, almonds, and leafy green vegetables.

Calcium is also available in supplement form.

Exercise

The idea of exercising immediately before or during a period may not appeal to everyone, but exercise releases endorphins.

Research suggests exercise is effective at reducing menstrual pain to the extent it may also eliminate or reduce the need for pain-relief medication.

Moderate activity such as walking can be beneficial during a period in place of more strenuous activity.

Yoga is a gentle exercise that releases endorphins, and can help prevent or reduce menstrual symptoms. One study compared the effects of aerobic exercise and yoga on PMS symptoms. The researchers found that both yoga and aerobic exercise significantly reduced PMS symptoms and pain intensity. However, yoga was more effective than aerobic exercise at reducing symptoms.

Women should contact a healthcare worker if they have severe pain and very heavy bleeding. * The pain consistently prevents persons from doing day-to-day activities * The pain worsens, or bleeding gets heavier over time * Over 25 years old and severe cramps are a new development * OTC medication doesn’t work.

For severe cases, the best way to get treatment is for a doctor to diagnose the cause of the menstrual pain.

22 NEWS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Poor COVID testing service at private lab results in passenger missing flight

P

rotocols for persons to produce a negative test before travelling has led one passenger to complain bitterly about the poor services that were meted out to him at a private testing laboratory thus resulting in him missing his flight.

Bindu Singh, a Guyaneseborn 54-year-old who now resides in Barbados, explained to Guyana Times that he arrived in the country last month. It was his first trip back home in nine years, and he was scheduled to depart on January 20, 2022, with a friend.

On Tuesday, they visited the private laboratory’s Berbice location to undergo a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test. By Wednesday at 02:00h, the laboratory indicated that both results were inconclusive.

Later that day, they returned to have the test redone with the expectation that the results would arrive on Thursday, in time for them to travel. However, the situation worsened. They were forced to go to the airport without their results.

“We said we would get the results during Thursday. We waited whole night, no results. We had to go to the airport because we didn’t know what to do. We went there and still didn’t see anything. We tried to call and nobody wasn’t answering,” the furious man explained.

After numerous attempts, he was able to speak with someone from the Georgetown branch of the lab.

“The persons over there asked ‘Why didn’t they call or email you the results?’ I said I don’t know. When I finally got onto them, they said it isn’t them, that it’s

Georgetown.”

Singh said he was perplexed, since the Berbice location was clueless about their results.

“We paid $25,000 for those tests. Why is it that they can’t send the results to us? We’re at the airport waiting. We had to call the airline and they put the tickets on hold. They said we had to prove to them that this is why we couldn’t get on the flight.”

The man said they had to leave the airport and return home, still unable to communicate with the facility on the status of his test results. Two days later on Friday, the results were still not sent. After some time and additional calls, someone from the private facility informed Singh that they tested positive. However, they still failed to send the email with the results.

“I called them back. No one got back to me. If you take my money to do something and it goes wrong, you have to make it right…

When I finally got on again, then they said we’re positive. They don’t want to send us the results, so how would we know that? I said to them I want to see my results.”

Since then, Singh has been in home isolation and could not physically uplift the document, as the lab was requesting. He is calling on the Health Ministry to intervene to ensure that the services provided by authorised laboratories are reliable. The airline is also awaiting the results as proof before rescheduling their flights.

“I must see that something is done. This is nonsense,” the man stated.

Attempts to get a comment from the private medical facility proved futile.

NEWS

23

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

CANU intercepts boat with 60lbs ganja in Canje River R

anks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) on Friday intercepted a speedboat with a large quantity of cannabis onboard. The discovery was made at the 8-mile junction of the Canje river in East Berbice.

Based on reports received, CANU officers were conducting a narcotics operation at the 8-mile junction in the Canje river when they intercepted a speedboat which, upon inspection, was found to contain the quantity of suspected cannabis.

One person was arrested and escorted to CANU Headquarters with the speedboat and the suspected narcotic, which was tested and determined to be cannabis weighing 27kg (60 lbs).

The investigation is still ongoing, but CANU has said these operations are part of its efforts to reduce narcotics’ trafficking in the district.

The boat and ganja intercepted

24 NEWS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“iMatter” app now puts GBV hotline at the fingertips of victims

T

he Human Services and Social Security Ministry has announced that the gender-based violence app, “iMatter” has been redesigned and is now equipped with a panic button, directly linking persons to the 914 hotline number.

The app can be downloaded from both the Google Play Store and Apple store.

This technological development allows persons to access help and resources on gender-based violence and is a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and the Guyana Spotlight Initiative, a European Union-United Nations global partnership to eliminate all forms of violence against women and

girls.

Its creation involved initial input by a local GBV activist while Techlify Incorporation took the app to its current form under the guidance of UNFPA and the Ministry.

Human Services Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud shared that these additional efforts further strengthen response for gender-based violence victims.

“The app is part of the continuing work we are doing to tackle domestic violence. I wanted to ensure that persons out there have multiple ways to reach out for help, and putting the panic button in the App was something I insisted on. The team working on the App spared no effort to

Minister Persaud is encouraging persons to download and make use of the iMatter app

review and revise to have a user-friendly App that contains information and educational resources that will appeal to all ages and needs,” she revealed.

The application was launched in March 2021 at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre at the “We Lift” event hosted by the Human Services

Ministry. It is available on all android (iMatter) and IOS devices (iMattergy) and sports a user-friendly layout. After downloading from your app store, simply select the region you live in to get started for educational information on gender-based violence and to find support services for you or someone you know who is affected by violence.

“I appeal to persons living in violent situations to get on to 914, either by phone or app, because you matter to us and we do not want to see continued acts of violence that leave so much death, pain and scars in their wake. I encourage people to have every member of their family download the “iMatter app”, let’s save lives and stop the vi-

olence,” Dr Persaud appealed.

The categories that can be selected include sexual violence and disability, sexual exploitation and abuse, trafficking in persons, domestic violence, child abuse and elderly abuse. The application also contains useful resources and answers to frequently asked questions that would help users understand more about gender-based violence.

Dedicated gender-based violence caseworkers assigned to the gender-based violence technological platform will respond by reaching out to a gender-based violence survivor or individual at risk, via the communication channel that the individual has expressed a preference for.

FEATURE

25

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Police Inspector, sister and...

Betsy commenced studies for her degree in 2019 at UG, and has noted that the Emergency Surgery programme has exposed her to the realities of being an Emergency Nurse Specialist. She said the programme is one which required her to always have hands-on knowledge of the field of study, and entailed both practical and theoretical knowledge being “on point.”

She said graduating alongside her sister Fiona and niece is a “great feeling.” She said being knowledgeable of any field of study is a satisfying feeling.

She recalled that during the initial years of her adult life, she worked as a clerk, and during that time, she

Inspector Fiona Fredericks of the Guyana Police Force (left) and her daughter Roshanna would be graduating this year from the University of Guyana with a Degree in Public Management and Diploma in Biology respectively

attended the Government Technical Institute (GTI), where she read for a Diploma in Commerce. She then attended the IDCE and completed another programme to boost her chances of entering UG. However, she always wanted to be a nurse, and in 2006 she commenced studies in the midwifery programme, and graduated two years later. In 2014, the mother of two commenced studies to be a Registered Nurse, and completed the programme in 2017. Then, in 2019, she decided that it was time to go after the degree. She says that her next plan is to complete a Master’s programme. “I’m not slowing down,” she quipped.

FROM PAGE 15

According to the University of Guyana, like the Convocation last year, events this year will be even more special, since the University administration is consistently underscoring that the great resilience displayed by students to complete their degrees in very difficult circumstances of COVID-19 deserves to be richly applauded and celebrated.

The Convocation will be held between February 4 and 12, 2022. A record number of attendees are expected this year, since due to the online nature of the event, there will be no limit to the number of invitees who can join the proceedings via Facebook Livestream.

26 NEWS GPF mulls laws to govern electric bikes – Divisional Traffic Officer SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

– says motorcyclists are most problematic category of road users

Deputy Superintendent Timothy Williams

D

ivisional Traffic Officer of Division 4A – (Georgetown), Deputy Superintendent Timothy Williams, has said that, at some point in time, policies would be implemented to cater for those citizens who tra-

verse the roadways with electric bikes.

He made this disclosure during a Guyana Police Force social media programme, “Traffic and You”, wherein he highlighted that electric bicycles have become a major

challenge and concern for the GPF. “That is a source of concern, those electric bikes.

Presently, they are operating unchecked simply because there is no documentation. These bikes are not registered by GRA, so they are operating unchecked.”

Williams has said that, sooner or later, some form of policy would be put in place to govern the use of these electric bicycles on Guyana’s roadways, especially in the capital city.

These comments were made in light of the recent accident in which 71-yearold Carlon Windsor Barrett of Victoria Avenue, Eccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD) was crushed by a truck while riding an electric bike along Water Street.

“I do not want a situation like that to continue, because we don’t want these electric bikes to get involved in accidents and, because the rider is not permitted or is not authorised by some document, we cannot prosecute it. So, it means therefore, somewhere along the line, this

will definitely have to happen, so that you will have to be licensed or something to ride one on the roadways…because a number of them, they are even towing on them, small children towing big people…

The users don’t even wear helmets, and it seems as though the law doesn’t ap-

ply to them, but they cannot continue operating unchecked, we have to take action against them somewhere along the line.”

Meanwhile, the Traffic officer disclosed that the most problematic category of road users in his division are the motorcyclists.

TURN TO PAGE 28

27 8 COVID deaths, 957 new cases recorded in 24 hours NEWS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

– death toll jumps to 1130

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD JANUARY 22, 2022 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

957

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

177

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION

13,050

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

16

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

20

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

30,389

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

21,196

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

56,585

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

42,212

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED

418,333

FULLY IMMUNISED

305,194

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

1130

GET MEDICAL ADVICE ON COVID-19 FROM MOH 24/7 HOTLINE NUMBERS: 2311166; 226 7480; 624 6674; 624 2819; 624 3067 OR 180/181.

T

he Health Ministry on Saturday reported that eight persons who tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have died, thus taking the death toll to 1130.

The deaths included five males: a 51-year-old from Region Three; a 79-year-old from Region Four; a 60-yearold from Region Three; a 65-year-old from Region Three and a 48-year-old from Region Four.

The females were a 67-year-old from Region Three; a 28-year-old from Region One; and a 74-year-old from Region Four.

Four of these persons were unvaccinated. Two were fully vaccinated, one partially vaccinated and the status of one person is unknown. These deaths were recorded between January 20 and January 22, 2022.

However, new statistics released by the Ministry showed a whopping 957 new cases being detected in 24 hours. The total confirmed cases in the country now stands at 56,855 – 26,196 males and 30,389 females.

Statistics also showed that 16 patients are in the designated Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 13,050 are in home isolation, 177 in institutional isolation and 20 in institutional quarantine. The data showed that 42,212 patients have recovered from the life-threatening virus while 491,635 swabs were processed.

In analysing the new cases, statistics showed that 44 were detected in Region One (Barima-Waini); 31 in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); 123 in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); 535 in Region Four (DemeraraMahaica); 44 in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); 67 in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne);

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN BE SAFE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Wear a face mask.

Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet.

Wash your hands or use handsanitizer If you have any symptoms, call the COVID-19 Hotline.

18 in Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni); 60 in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni); 20 in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and 15 in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

Meanwhile, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony on Friday stated that a majority of cases monitored in the facilities are people with multiple underlying illnesses or unvaccinated from the virus.

“What we’re finding is that the persons who are becoming hospitalised now, they would have a lot of comorbidities, not just one underlying illness but several underlying illnesses.

We have noticed that pattern.

Secondly, most of the people that are coming in the hospitals have not been vaccinated,” he had revealed.

Latest vaccination figures show that over 419,000 adults or 81.9 per cent of that cohort have received a first dose.

Second doses have surpassed 307,000 or 59.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, in the 12 to 17 age category, more than 22,600 or 31 per cent are fully immunised. Booster doses have seen a significant hike with over 32,000 doses being administered.

Government started administering booster shots after studies around the world showed that the efficacy of the vaccines wanes after six months of receiving both doses.

All Guyanese are remind-

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020 REGION 1

1939

REGION 2

2127

REGION 3

7408

REGION 4

28,521

REGION 5

2071

REGION 6

5112

REGION 7

2278

REGION 8

733

REGION 9

3204

REGION 10

3192

ed to observe the protocols of the COVID-19 Emergency Measures, which are in effect until January 31, 2022. This order emphasises the need for everyone, 12 years and older to get vaccinated against COVID-19; the need for cor-

rect and consistent use of a face mask when leaving your home; the importance of maintaining the six feet physical distance from others; and the need for good hand hygiene to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

If anyone is displaying

any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 or needs any additional information, they are asked to contact the COVID-19 Hotline 231-1166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately or visit www.health.gov. gy.

28 NEWS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

GPF mulls laws to govern electric bikes...

He explained that, in 2020, 27 persons lost their lives in Division 4A; while, in 2021, 26 persons died as a result of vehicular accidents. Of the 26 deaths in 2021, he noted, none of them were motorcyclists.

“That in itself tells us that we have to work more on these motorcyclists,” he stated.

The Traffic Officer noted that, in 2021, a number of safety helmets were distributed to road users in his division, yet a number of them are seen riding without the correct type of helmets, while some are seen with none at all.

“I can recall (that) during last year we received a number of

safety helmets from the Ministry of Home Affairs, and I was out there with my ranks to issue them, and we advised these motorcyclists to utilise and wear the helmets. But we’re still seeing a number of persons using their motorcycles or riding their cycles with their helmets not properly affixed. There’s no strap at the bottom, some are using industrial helmets, that is not the required helmet for the motorcycles on the road…we have persons towing young children, a father or mother carrying his or her child, and that child is not wearing a safety helmet. That is a concern for us,” the Traffic

Officer stated.

Further, he added that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) does not encourage motorcycle ranks to give chase to those persons who are seen without helmets.

“The Force, we don’t encourage our ranks on motorcycles to be chasing after motorcyclists without safety helmets, but I am appealing to those young men out there who are in the habit of doing so to desist from such a practice. Because if you’re involved in an accident, it is highly likely you will sustain severe injuries, but we will not be chasing after you. Once we find or we identify your identification number or

your ID mark, what we call your number plate, we have a channel that we can go through and get the information from GRA (Guyana Revenue Authority) to prosecute you.”

The Traffic Officer also warned people who are performing stunts on the roadways that they can be prosecuted, as it is considered a form of dangerous driving.

“That is a form of dangerous driving, because of course the law applies to motorcycle operators or drivers of any class of vehicles… So, if you are using the vehicle in a reckless manner, that is: wheelieing or speeding

FROM PAGE 26

on the roads and swaying in and out of traffic, we can prosecute you for being reckless or dangerous.”

He noted that it is based on these actions that the Police are more vigilant on the road in terms of their presence. “We have increased the number of ranks on weekends around the city, especially in the evenings, to look out for these reckless drivers… Some will be travelling in large groups; sometimes they want to take over the road and all of that. We try to ensure that, once we discover them on the road, we try to break up the groups,” he explained.

NEWS

29

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyanese can access $5M to build core homes in CH&PA Home Improvement programme – $500,000 available to improve homes

H

undreds turned out to various locations along the East Coast of Demerara, where the Housing and Water Ministry is conducting outreaches through the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) to sensitise the public about the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme.

The Adequate Housing Programme includes a core home support and a home im-

provement subsidy component. Eligible persons can benefit from $5 million to build a core home, subject to the payment of $100,000. Others who already have property can benefit from $500,000 in building materials for their home improvement subsidy.

The CH&PA set up shop at the Mon Repos and Lusignan markets and the Good Hope Secondary School, all on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).

Housing Minister

Collin Croal revealed that the event has already attracted hundreds of residents and that the application deadline has been extended to February 25 so more persons can apply.

“To date, we have been receiving positive responses from the communities but the majority has been from the West Bank of Demerara, so we want to give persons along the East Coast of Demerara who fall within the project bound-

Minister of Housing Collin Croal (centre) and CH&PA CEO Sherwin Greaves (left) having a discussion with a resident

ary an opportunity to apply,” Minister Croal said.

“So, we’re coming to the communities to allow persons who are here, to be able to come and seek information if they would like. If they can (benefit) they can come today and also bring their documents and simply have the interview conducted so the staff would go through that screening process to examine if they are eligible.”

TURN TO PAGE 30

30 NEWS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyanese can access $5M to build core...

FROM PAGE 29

The Minister also listed the various income brackets that are eligible for the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) funded project. Croal further explained that the scope of the project, which previously catered for up to La Bonne Intention (LBI) on the East Coast and Diamond on the East Bank, has now been extended.

“The project caters for a particular segment of our population… the houses you see so far being constructed, that have been featured recently, you have for example young professional houses. That caters for a particular high-income bracket. Then you have the moderate-income hous-

es, those two-bedroom elevated. You also have these core houses, which cater for those in the low-income bracket, the vulnerable. The beneficiaries must own their land. Their income bracket must be $75,000 and less.”

“There’s a boundary line in which the project is being implemented. Originally, the project was approved for up to LBI. One of the first things we did when we came into office was sought approval for the boundary lines. So we got approval for that and it’s now being implemented in 18 other communities all the way to Haslington, on the East Coast.”

Additionally, the proj-

A section of the turnout at Good Hope Secondary

ect was supposed to end at Diamond on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD). According to Croal, they got approval for the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) boundary to be recognised, including Grove/

Diamond into the project.

The Core Home Support initiative targets 150 low-income families, who will receive new 20×20 feet two-bedroom concrete houses, which will be ready to move in and

be equipped with basic utilities such as water and electricity. They also have the option of extending the houses over time.

Each house will be built by contractors on behalf of the Ministry, with beneficiaries required to contribute $100,000 to the overall cost.

Additionally, applicants will be required to possess ownership of the land, which must have been issued by the Ministry.

Meanwhile, the Home Improvement Subsidy initiative will be providing $500,000 worth in building materials to low-income families who are living in ramshackle structures, so that they can carry out repairs or expansion to the

existing property. Importantly, residents benefitting from this initiative will not be required to repay anything.

Already, over 1500 Home Improvement Subsidies have been earmarked under the programme and over 200 persons have already approved. In fact, the Minister revealed that persons have already been making good use of the home improvement subsidies.

“In terms of the subsidies, we have already ongoing in Sophia and Parfaite Harmonie, persons who are benefitting from the programme. They have received their materials and they’re having their own contractor apply it to their houses,” Croal said.

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

More jobs, disposable incomes available now than when PPP/C took office – VP Jagdeo

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ice President Bharrat Jagdeo said that there are more jobs now than when the PPP/C assumed office in August 2020, and that Guyanese also have more disposable income.

“If you ask me, ‘Are more people working today than when we came into office?’

The answer is yes… The answer is a bold yes, significantly more.”

“Do we have greater disposable income today than in that period? The answer is yes.” These were the sentiments of the Vice President during an interview on

Friday with the National Communications Network (NCN).

The Government has also been on a campaign to present Guyana as a business-friendly destination and announced plans to improve the ease of doing business, including by reducing the cost of power and introducing a single window for business registration and trade.

Additionally, when it came into office, the Government had removed many burdensome taxes which were imposed by the previous Administration. The

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

Vice President said that this resulted in $40 billion in taxes being placed back into taxpayers’ pockets.

He acknowledged that because of the protraction of the pandemic, there has been a global shortage of food and supplies, which has impacted the cost of living.

“We removed the taxes from food items that we had, a majority of food items. But still, if the prices are higher and there are shortages globally, you can’t avoid the passthrough, but it bothers us.”

The flooding which occurred in 2021 had also caused setbacks due to the destruction of farms. His Excellency, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has

urged the public to grow food to help ease the cost of living. He intends to work with Caricom to reduce its food import bill by growing more food in the region.

Vice President Jagdeo also responded to recent requests made by the People’s National Congress Reform – a constituent of the opposition – for certain reliefs to address the cost of living.

“I find it very strange that a party that just demitted office 18 months ago, that has sought to put taxes on every single area, increased taxes by about $40 billion more

on basic food items, on medical supplies, on everything, would now have any proposal for a budget that seeks to reduce taxes.”

The Government will continue to seek remedies for the issues impacting the cost of living. Jagdeo said Government will see how it can work with communities during the year on mitigating the cost of living. The new budget, when presented on Wednesday, will show the continuance of the Government’s work to ensure infrastructure for future growth, the Vice President related.

32 NEWS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

US Geological Survey may still be underestimating potential of Stabroek Block – Norway Group – says Guyana-Suriname Basin could have more than 13.6B barrels of oil

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he Guyana-Suriname basin, where oil giant ExxonMobil made its 26th and 27th discoveries of oil earlier in the year in the Stabroek Block, could well hold more than 13.6 billion barrels of oil it is estimated to hold by the United States (US) Geological Survey.

This is according to the Norwegian Research group Rystad Energy. According to the group’s Senior Vice President and Head of Latin America, Schreiner Parker, in a recent newsletter, Rystad estimates

that Exxon’s last finds in the Fangtooth and Lau Lau wells bring the total discovered volumes in the basin to over 12.5 billion barrels of oil.

“The Fangtooth and Lau Lau discoveries – named for fish species, like previous wells – are the 22nd and 23rd discoveries in the prolific block and will add to volumes that have earlier been estimated at around 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe),” he wrote.

“Rystad Energy’s initial view is that these two

finds together could hold over half a billion boe of recoverable hydrocarbon resources, bringing the total discovered volumes in the Guyana-Suriname basin to more than 12.5 billion boe.”

He went on to write that considering the numerous untapped oil wells, particularly the more than a dozen wildcats lined up for drilling this year, the basin could be poised to exceed the current 13.6 billion barrels of oil estimate by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

When the USGS assessed the block in 2020 as part of its World Petroleum Resources Project, it was found that the GuyanaSuriname basin had an estimated 13.6 billion barrels of oil and 32 billion cubic feet of gas. This survey was intended as an updated assessment of the oil potential in the basin, considering the last one dated back to 2000 where even less oil was estimated.

United States oil giant, ExxonMobil, is meanwhile continuing its exploration

activities in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, spudding the Patwa-1 well on Friday.

The Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) had indicated in a Notice to Mariners that the oil major’s local affiliate, “Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd (EEPGL) will continue exploration drilling operations at the Patwa-1 Well Site within the Stabroek Block of Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 33

Rystad’s Senior Vice President and Head of Latin America, Schreiner Parker

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

US Geological Survey may still be...

According to the Notice, the well is being spudded with Noble Corporation’s drillship Noble Sam Croft.

It was noted that drilling activities will continue until March 15, 2022. To this end, MARAD has informed mariners to stay clear of the vessels being used for the exercise and navigate with “extreme caution” whenever in the vicinity.

The Patwa-1 well is situated approximately 113.4 nautical miles (210 kilometres) from the Coast of Guyana, and covers an area of 0.29 square nautical miles (1 square kilometre).

Only earlier this month, Exxon announced two new

oil discoveries in the oil rich Stabroek Block, which has more than 10 billion barrels of recoverable resource estimated.

Recent finds

When it comes to the recent oil finds were in the Fangtooth-1 and Lau Lau-1 wells in the Stabroek Block, Exxon has said that the Fangtooth-1 well had 164 feet of oil reservoir, while the Lau Lau-1 well had 315 feet of oil reservoir.

ExxonMobil’s Senior Vice President of exploration and new ventures, Mike Cousins, had noted that the discovery not only increased Exxon’s resource estimates

but added to the company’s understanding of the Block.

“Initial results from the Fangtooth and Lau Lau wells are a positive sign for Guyana and continue to demonstrate the potential for the country’s growing oil and gas sector, ExxonMobil and our co-venturers in the Stabroek Block… Both discoveries increase our understanding of the resource, our continued confidence in the Block’s exploration potential, and our view that the many discoveries to date could result in up to 10 development projects,” Cousins said.

Meanwhile, Exxon Country Manager Alistair

FROM PAGE 32

Routledge noted that the company’s success in Guyana’s waters was nothing short of extraordinary.

Routledge also assured that as the company’s oil finds increased, so too would opportunities for Guyanese to benefit.

Previously, Exxon’s last oil find was at the Cataback-1 well in the Stabroek Block back in October 2021, where the company encountered 243 feet of oil reservoirs. Before that, the company had also found oil at the Pinktail-1 well in September.

Currently, the oil major is producing close to 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil

The Liza Destiny FPSO producing oil in Guyana’s waters

in the giant Liza field with the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.

This is Exxon’s first development project with two others already approved and its fourth in the process of be-

ing reviewed.

ExxonMobil has said it anticipates at least six projects offshore Guyana will be online by 2027, with developmental drilling recently starting on the second one, the Liza Phase 2 project.

34 NEWS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

US military aid arrives in Ukraine amid Russia border tensions

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he first shipment of the United States’ $200 million security support package for Ukraine has arrived in Kyiv, the US embassy said.

The delivery followed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Kyiv this week amid concerns from Ukraine and its Western allies over tens of thousands of Russian troops amassed at the border with Ukraine. Russia denies planning a new military offensive.

Washington had approved the $200 million package in December.

“The United States will continue providing such assistance to support Ukraine’s armed forces in their ongoing effort to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against Russian aggression,” the embassy said on Facebook on Saturday.

Ukraine’s Defence Minister thanked the US for the aid.

Meanwhile, the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will send US-made anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine in a move that Blinken said Washington

A Russian serviceman carries ammunition during a military drill at MolkinoTraining Ground in the Krasnodar region, Russia

was fully endorsing.

“I expedited and authorised and we fully endorse transfers of defensive equipment NATO Allies Estonia Latvia Lithuania are providing to Ukraine to strengthen its ability to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked and irresponsible aggression,” he tweeted.

“We salute them for their longstanding support to Ukraine.”

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, earlier this week described Western arms supplies to Ukraine

as extremely dangerous and said they “do nothing to reduce tensions”.

The West has rejected Moscow’s main demands – promises from NATO that Ukraine will never be added as a member, that no alliance weapons will be deployed near Russian borders, and that it will pull back its forces from Central and Eastern Europe.

A meeting between Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday ended with no breakthrough.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Jamaica to sign MoU on tourism Several killed in bus blast in development with Spain western Afghanistan

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ourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, has announced that Jamaica and Spain will craft a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on various aspects of tourism development and economic transformation.

The announcement follows a meeting with Spain’s Minister of Industry, Trade, and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, earlier today at FITUR, the world’s most significant annual international travel and tourism trade show, now underway in Madrid, Spain. In addition to the Dominican Republic, which is this year’s FITUR Partner Country, FITUR brings together almost a hundred countries with seventy official representations.

“I am very pleased to announce that Jamaica and Spain will develop a memorandum of understanding for collaboration in various areas of tourism development. Minister Morato and I today had extensive discussions regarding various areas of recovery and the reimagining of tourism as a driver of economic growth and transformation,” said Bartlett.

“We discussed the role of the United Nations

World Tourism Organisation as a critical institution for securing the academic and practical applications necessary to redevelop the new tourism that will enable small countries and small and medium-sized players to have a more equitable experience and to recover much of the lost revenue,” he added.

Bartlett also used the opportunity to invite Morato to Jamaica’s first-ever Global Tourism Resilience Day, scheduled for February 17, 2022, at the World Expo in Dubai. The day will focus on the ability of countries to build capacity to respond to international and global shocks and be able to predict with greater certainty their responses. It will also aid countries in understanding and mitigating the effects of these shocks on their development, but most importantly, it will help them manage and recover quickly after these shocks.

“Jamaica is indeed a thought leader in this area, and we are committed to working with all our partners to build a stronger, more effective, and resilient world that can respond better to shocks that will come as we continue on this journey of life,” expressed Bartlett. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

A

t least seven people have been killed in a bomb blast on a minibus in the western Afghan city of Herat, officials said.

“Four women were among the seven killed,” the head of Herat’s provincial hospital, Arif Jalali, told the AFP news agency on Saturday.

Herat’s Taliban Commander Mawlawi Ansari told Reuters news agency that nine people had been wounded.

The blast was confirmed by Herat’s intelligence office.

“Initial reports indicate it was a sticky bomb attached to the fuel tank of the passenger vehicle,” said Sabit Harwi, a spokesman for the office.

Herat provincial Police and the Department of Culture also confirmed the bomb blast. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Security in Afghanistan has vastly improved since a 20-year-long armed battle by the Taliban ended with the group’s capture of the capital, Kabul, in August.

However, several attacks have been report-

ed each week throughout the country, including some claimed by the regional chapter of ISIL (ISIS), Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K).

ISKP has been accused of regularly targeting the country’s Shia Hazara community with deadly attacks, and the area where Saturday’s blast occurred near a bus station is also inhabited by the community.

Herat is the country’s third-biggest city, close to the border with Iran, but had remained relatively peaceful in recent months.

In addition to security-related concerns, the Afghan economy remains dire as support for the country has dried up amid the Taliban takeover.

The international community remains wary of the group with the United States imposing sanctions on some of its leaders.

The United Nations estimates nearly 23 million Afghans – about 55 per cent of the population – are facing extreme levels of hunger, with nearly nine million at risk of famine as winter takes hold.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

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GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022

Raj Bawa surpasses Dhawan’s 18-year-old feat to script massive India win against Uganda

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arlier in the same game, opener Angkrish Raghuvanshi had threatened to break Dhawan’s record, but he was eventually dismissed for 144.

Young Indian batsman Raj Bawa on Saturday scripted a massive Indian record during the team’s Group B tie against Uganda in the ICC U19 World Cup in Trinidad, as he surpassed Shikhar Dhawan’s 18-year-old feat en route to his unbeaten knock of 162.

India bowled out Uganda for 79, to win by 326 runs and register

their biggest victory of the Under-19 World Cup tournament.

Raj Bawa and Angkrish Raghuvanshi were the top performers for the Indian team with their tons.

Raghuvanshi scored 144, while Bawa remained unbeaten with his 162 runs, and the 19-year-old batter now holds the record of the highest individual score by an Indian batter in the tournament.

India ended group stage as table-toppers, having won all three games. They will next play in the quarterfinals. (SportsNDTV)

Raj Bawa scored 162*

SCOREBOARD INDIA UNDER-19S INNINGS (50 OVERS MAXIMUM) Angkrish Raghuvanshi c Kakuru b Sowobi 144 Harnoor Singh c Asaba b Kidega 15 Nishant Sindhu (c) c Kidega b Murungi 15 Raj Bawa not out 162 Kaushal Tambe c Kakuru b Murungi 15 Dinesh Bana †c Baguma b Murungi 22 Aneeshwar Gautam not out 12 Extras (lb 1, nb 4, w 15) 20 TOTAL (50 Ov, RR: 8.10) 405/5 Did not bat: Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Vicky Ostwal, Vasu Vats, Ravi Kumar Fall of wickets: 1-40 (Harnoor Singh, 7.3 ov), 2-85 (Nishant Sindhu, 15.1 ov), 3-291 (Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 37.5 ov), 4-335 (Kaushal Tambe, 43.1 ov), 5-383 (Dinesh Bana, 47.3 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Juma Miyaji 10-0-88-0 Christopher Kidega 8-1-48-1 Pascal Murungi 10-0-72-3 Joseph Baguma 9-0-72-0 Yunusu Sowobi 7-0-70-1 Matthew Musinguzi 6-0-54-0

UGANDA UNDER-19S INNINGS (TARGET: 406 RUNS FROM 50 OVERS) Isaac Ategeka retired hurt 0 Brian Asaba c Ostwal b Hangargekar 5 Cyrus Kakuru b Hangargekar 0 Ronald Lutaaya c Sindhu b Vats 5 Pascal Murungi (c)lbw b Sindhu 34 Ronald Opio b Sindhu 11 Juma Miyaji c Bawa b Sindhu 0 Joseph Baguma b Sindhu 0 Christopher Kidega c Tambe b Ostwal 5 Matthew Musinguzi not out 0 Yunusu Sowobi run out (Hangargekar/†Bana) 0 Extras (lb 4, nb 1, w 14) 19 TOTAL (19.4 Ov, RR: 4.01) 79 Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Cyrus Kakuru, 0.6 ov), 2-12 (Brian Asaba, 2.4 ov), 3-17 (Ronald Lutaaya, 3.6 ov), 4-46 (Ronald Opio, 11.2 ov), 5-55 (Juma Miyaji, 13.3 ov), 6-62 (Joseph Baguma, 15.4 ov), 7-67 (Christopher Kidega, 16.5 ov), 8-77 (Pascal Murungi, 19.1 ov), 9-79 (Yunusu Sowobi, 19.4 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Rajvardhan Hangargekar 3-0-8-2 Vasu Vats 4-0-18-1 Ravi Kumar 3-0-6-0 Raj Bawa 2-0-12-0 Nishant Sindhu 4.4-1-19-4 Vicky Ostwal 3-1-12-1

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022

37

GCB/CWI to roll out coaching education certification courses in March 2022 T

he Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), in collaboration with Cricket West Indies (CWI), would be conducting a series of coaching certification courses across the three counties of Guyana. The courses are scheduled to commence from March 2022, and all three county boards are currently in the process of earmarking and registering their potential candidates to participate in the applicable courses.

The Essequibo Cricket Board, Demerara Cricket

– potential coaches to register through county boards

CWI Coach Development Manager Chris Brabazan

GCB President Bissoondyal Singh

Board and Berbice Cricket Board have each given an undertaking to register a mini-

mum of 16 potential participants. On Thursday, January 20, 2022, representatives of

the three counties met with CWI Coach Development Manager Chris Brabazan to discuss the roll-out of the coaching education courses with respect to the county’s landscape, players’ development plans, and CWI’s coaching education policies.

For beginners, the first step in the coaching education certification programme would be their participation in the now online CWI Foundation coaching course.

Individuals holding previous

and current CWI Foundation coaching certificates and/or licences, who are desirous of participating in the CWI Level One coaching certification course, must ensure that they have the prerequisites before registering for this course. These prerequisites are CWI Foundation Coaching Certificate or its equivalent, Child Protection Certificate, First-Aid Certificate, and Police Clearance.

GCB President Bissoondyal Singh has indi-

cated that teachers and other individuals desirous of participating in the CWI Foundation and Level One coaching courses are encouraged to make contact with their respective county boards, to explore the possibilities of registration for the series of planned courses.

Further, he suggested that CWI Level One-certified coaches are encouraged to register with their respective county boards their interest in participating in the CWI Level Two coaching course.

38 Ramlall grateful for experience gained in Guyana leg of ICC U19 World Cup

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022

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he ICC Men’s U19 50-over World Cup hosted the first leg of the tournament in Guyana. The action saw the Providence Stadium and Everest Cricket Club being used for the official matches. Other grounds, such as the Georgetown Cricket Club and the Police Ground, among others, were used for training and warmup matches.

For Sunil Joshua Ramlall, the experience was like no other, as, for the games, he was brought on as a Data Analyst for SportsRadar.

This publication caught up with Ramlall, who said the experience was a bit unique, as his job required him to break down what he saw to better help viewers that

aren’t at the venue to understand what it’s like at the game.

“In a nutshell, I basically had to watch the game and break down the information I’ve seen for the viewers. For example, if John Doe hit a 6, I would break down how he hit the six, what shot was offered, who was bowling, how the ball was delivered, and more. We basically try (as) hard as possible to give people an experience as if they were actually at the event; and we know how it is during these trying times: (people) need some form of entertainment”, Ramlall clarified.

Ramlall explained that he was extremely grateful to John Ramsingh, who had

recommended him for the position, as well as for having the privilege of working with some of his fellow countrymen, such as Mark Harper, Reon King and renowned radio presenter Inderjeet Persaud, along with other delegates of the ICC. In terms of what he has gained, Ramlall divulged that it has taught him that one must always remain humble, and have patience, as good things come to those who wait. He relayed that if you do good, good things would come your way.

Being one of the many Guyanese among the array of talents from all around the world, Ramlall has said the feeling was

great, as his main goal was to keep Guyana’s name high. “I was pretty overwhelmed, being honest. My colleagues from Australia would hit me up on WhatsApp before or on game day just to tell me relax, I got this.

“Then getting to meet the people behind the scenes: the match officials, the ICC officials, the Guyana Support staff that actually make the event happen on the ground, was just amazing to see and an experience to have. If I had to choose between watching cricket in the stands or working from behind-the-scenes, I would choose behind-the-scenes every chance I get,” he posited.

Sunil Joshua Ramlall worked as a Data Analyst for SportsRadar

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2021

West Indies v England T20I…

Hosein and Allen

By Brandon Corlette in Barbados

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cstatic fans at the electrifying Kensington Oval watched West Indies register a comprehensive win against England in the first of five T20 International matches in Bridgetown, Barbados.

In the nine-wicket win, Jason Holder’s career-best 4 for 7 and Brandon King’s un-

Brandon King added royalty. His last three T20I scores read: 67, 43 and 52

ed 52 unbroken runs together.

King ended on 52 from 49 balls, which was decorated with four boundaries and one six. Pooran made a supportive 27 from 29 balls, with two fours. In a small chase, only one six was struck by the West Indies.

Holder’s magic Earlier, on a fresh Kensington surface, West Indies won the toss and elect-

The venue at Barbados was electrifying

beaten 52 sealed the deal for West Indies with 17 balls to spare.

The men in maroon completed the chase of 104 in 17.1 overs. Openers King and Shai Hope cruised in the chase, adding that calmness and class. King got his innings going with a leg-glance, while Hope played a smooth pullshot through mid-on to get his first boundary. The home team reached the 50 partnership inside nine overs, with King at that stage on 27 from 30 and Hope on 20 from 24 setting the platform in the small chase.

Rashid drew Hope on the front foot with a beauty that spun sharp and resulted in Hope being stumped for 20, ending the 52-run partnership.

Nicholas Pooran then joined King, and the duo add-

39

ed to bowl first. They rocked England to 103 all out in 19.4 overs. The returning Sheldon Cottrell, who last played a T20I in July 2021, was slammed for a six, but with the next ball sent Jason Roy’s stumps packing.

Home boy Holder got his magic going when he found himself on a hat-trick, peeling the edge of Tom Banton and getting one to shape, and forcing Moeen Ali into a loose drive. At 10-3, things quickly went downhill, as both Cottrell and Holder produced back-toback maidens.

In the fifth over, the elegant James Vince got a longhop, but picked out Darren Bravo at short cover. The score was then 24-4.

Sam Billings then looked to use his feet, but he kept danc-

ing towards the pavilion, when he ran past a delivery from Akeal Hosein and took the score to 29-5.

With the Kensington Oval crowd abuzz, Liam Dawson had a suicidal run-out as West Indies continued to run riot against England.

Skipper Eion Morgan struck a six off Romario Shepherd, but fell afterwards in a plot that saw England batsmen hitting sixes and getting out throughout the match.

Morgan threw his arm to an off-cutter from Shepherd and found Pollard at cover. Adil Rashid and Chris Jordan joined forces at 49-7, and at that stage England were looking down the barrel of being rocked below 100.

However, hometown boy Jordan added 28 quick runs, which had three sixes in his 23 balls. His knock concluded when Fabian Allen tossed one up, and Jordan found long-off.

Despite Rashid scor-

ing 23 runs, Holder came and added the finishing touches.

He found himself on a hattrick again, removing Saqib Mahmood and Rashid in successive balls. Rashid made 22 from 18 balls, which had three fours, but Holder sent his legstump packing.

Holder h a d c a -

Jason Holder claimed his best T20I figures

Compliments of:

Chris Jordan top-scored for England (Photos:Getty Images)

reer-best figures of 4-7 in four overs.

This win would give the West Indies a great deal of confidence, while England

would want to roar back in the next match, which is set for today: Sunday January 23 from 16:00h Eastern Caribbean time.

SCOREBOARD ENGLAND INNINGS (20 OVERS MAXIMUM) Jason Roy b Cottrell 6 Tom Banton c †Pooran b Holder 4 James Vince c Bravo b Cottrell 14 Moeen Ali c Allen b Holder 0 Eoin Morgan (c) c Pollard b Shepherd 17 Sam Billings †st †Hope b Hosein 2 Liam Dawson run out (Pollard/†Hope) 2 Chris Jordan c Cottrell b Allen 28 Adil Rashid b Holder 22 Saqib Mahmood c Allen b Holder 5 Tymal Mills not out

0 Extras (w 3) 3 TOTAL (19.4 Ov, RR: 5.23) 103 Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Jason Roy, 0.6 ov), 2-10 (Tom Banton, 1.5 ov), 3-10 (Moeen Ali, 1.6 ov), 4-24 (James Vince, 4.6 ov), 5-29 (Sam Billings, 6.6 ov), 6-39 (Liam Dawson, 10.1 ov), 7-49 (Eoin Morgan, 11.4 ov), 8-85 (Chris Jordan, 16.3 ov), 9-103 (Saqib Mahmood, 19.3 ov), 10103 (Adil Rashid, 19.4 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Sheldon Cottrell 4-1-30-2

Jason Holder Akeal Hosein Romario Shepherd Odean Smith Kieron Pollard Fabian Allen

3.4-1-7-4 4-0-16-1 3-0-25-1 1-0-4-0 2-0-11-0 2-0-10-1

WEST INDIES INNINGS (TARGET: 104 RUNS FROM 20 OVERS) Brandon King not out 52 Shai Hope †st †Billings b Rashid 20 Nicholas Pooran not out 27 Extras (lb 5) 5 TOTAL (17.1 Ov, RR: 6.05) 104/1 Did not bat: Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard (c), Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Akeal Hosein, Sheldon Cottrell Fall of wickets: 1-52 (Shai Hope, 9.1 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Saqib Mahmood 3-0-24-0 Chris Jordan 2-0-15-0 Adil Rashid 4-0-21-1 Liam Dawson 4-0-12-0 Tymal Mills 3.1-0-20-0 Moeen Ali 1-0-7-0

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

SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022

guyanatimesgy.com

West Indies v England T20I...

Van Lange highlights day 1 with wins in doubles and mixed doubles’ categories

Jonthan Van Lange won the mixed doubles with Jasmine Billingy and the boys doubles with Niran Bissu

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he action in the National Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships kicked off with a bang, and Jonathan Van Lange highlighted the day’s play by copping the titles in the doubles and mixed doubles categories (alongside Jasmine Billingy).

In the Novices boys’ tournament, Emmanuel Jeffery emerged champion as he was able to defeat Gavin Narine 3-2 in the final encounter. The duo battled neck-and-neck, but in the end only one player could come out on top.

Jeffery bagged the first round, but gave it away in the next round, as Narine showed

Novice girls winner Samirah Burrowes

Novice Jeffery

fight, but in the end Jeffery found composure and reclaimed the final two rounds.

The scores read 3-2 11-5, -10, 4, 9). While in the Novices girls’ tourney, Samirah Burrowes was the winner, having decimated Tricelle Carke. Unlike the boys, Burrowes stood her ground despite losing the second round, the scores read 3-2 (5, -6, 5, 6).

In the mixed 19 doubles’ draw, many competitors sought to steal the crown, but it was Jonathan Van Lange and Jasmine Billingy who emerged victorious. They were able to fend off Niran Bissu and Thuria Thomas 3-1. Their

opponents had no answer for the Van Lange/Billingy combo, who played with grace and elegance. Thus, in the end, the scores (3-1, 7-5, 6-2) reflected why they deserved the title.

It wasn’t over for Van Lange, as he then stormed to the doubles crown as well as he and Niran Bissu fended off Colin Wong and Krystian Sahadeo, winning 3-1. While Wong and Sahadeo won the first round 11-9, Van Lange and Bissu dug deep to broadside their opponents and claim the other rounds 11-8, 12-10, 11-7 to close out day 1 of the action.

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he Guyana Senior Women’s National Team take on Dominica and the Turks and Caicos Islands in February in qualifiers for the 2022 Concacaf W Championship, a tournament that serves as the regional gateway to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2024 Summer Olympics.

The fixtures, rescheduled from November by Concacaf due to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, would bring the Lady Jags squad together for the first time since the October encampment in Puerto Rico, which included two friendly matches against the hosts.

On Wednesday, February 16, Guyana will start their Group F qualification campaign with a home tie against Dominica at Leonora Stadium. It kicks off at 8 p.m., and is followed by an away fixture against the Turks and Caicos Islands on Saturday, February 19.

Further details are yet to be announced for the away game.

“The first two rounds will be an extended training camp for us, as we try and assess our players and evaluate where we are as a team,” said Head Coach Ivan Joseph.

“This will be the first time in my tenure as a coach (that) we will have our full programme assem-

bled, and it will take us some time to come together as a cohesive unit.

Turks and Caicos and Dominica will be formidable opponents, who have been working hard these past few months to build a solid programme,” he added.

“We hope to get the results we

need to put us in the right position to advance out of the group, but we will have our hands full.” After the opening two matches in February, Guyana will face Nicaragua on April 8, and Trinidad and Tobago on April 12 to complete their qualification group matches.

winner

Emmanuel

Each of the six group winners would join automatic qualifiers Canada and the United States – the reigning champions – in the 2022 Concacaf W Championship, which will take place in Mexico in July.

“I am very excited to have our senior team playing in the upcoming W Qualifiers,” said GFF Director of Women’s Programmes, Paul Beresford. “We have a mix of veterans and new players available to us, and I am confident the coaching staff will put a very competitive team together.

“Both of these games are critical in building momentum, and we expect Dominica and Turks and Caicos to present stiff competition,” Beresford continued. “It will be great to have the women's team playing in Guyana again, and I expect the football fraternity to come out and support the Lady Jaguars.”

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