Guyana Times - Sunday, October 16, 2022

Gas-to-Shore project

Upgrades to GPL grid to be completed by 2024 – Project Manager

Upgrades to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) grid that will be neces sary for energy from the gasto-shore project to be integrat ed into the Demerara Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS), will be completed by 2024.

This was according to ExxonMobil's Gas to Shore Manager Friedrich Krispin, when he delivered remarks during the recently concluded Guyana Basin Summit (GBS) that was held at the Pegasus Hotel.

According to Krispin, Exxon subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) has been collaborating with the Government to ensure that the necessary specifications are in place for the project to work.

“We have been working with Government to ensure that a distribution system is obviously completed and up graded by the time this is ready. The Government actu ally has a contractor doing the engineering for the upgrades to the grid. And they intend to finish that by the end of 2024,” Krispin explained.

“The plant will actually have a substation and it will actually have a high voltage cable that is supposed to go across the Demerara River, into where Garden of Eden is. And that’s where the tie in will happen. And then it will get distributed from there. What happens after that is under the purview of GPL and they will have to figure out what upgrades are necessary for the grid to carry all of this.”

The schedule for the com pletion of the upgrades to the grid will be in tandem with the scheduled completion of oth er components of the project, such as the pipeline and the first phase of the Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plant. According to Krispin, these will be com pleted in 2024.

“We expect the construc tion to take about three years. That clock was started about six months ago or so, when we decided to invest in the proj ect. And then therefore we’re going to be targeting to com plete the pipeline by the end of 2024 and at the same time the Government has committed to build a power plant in an inte grated manger with an NGL plant,” he explained.

Gas-to-Shore

Procurement has al ready been started by the Government of Guyana for the gas-to-shore project. With a timetable to deliver rich gas by the end of 2024 and the Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plant to be online by 2025, works are progressing on get ting the project off the ground. As such, during the first half of this year, Exxon was expect ed to source the materials and pipeline, so that they are avail able for when construction starts later this year.

The project will have a 25year lifespan and is expected to employ up to 800 workers

during the peak construction stage, as well as some 40 fulltime workers during the oper ations stage, and another 50 workers during the decommis sioning stage.

The gas-to-shore proj ect will include a power plant and a NGL plant, all of which will be constructed with in the Wales Development Zone (WDZ). When it comes to the construction of a com bined cycle power plant, this will generate up to 300 mega watts (MW) of power, with a net 250MW delivered into the Guyana Power and Light Grid at a sub-station located on the East Bank of the Demerara River.

The Guyana Government has already invited interest ed parties to make invest ments in the WDZ, which will be heavily industrialised and for which approximately 150 acres of land have been allo cated. Those lands were previ ously used by the Wales Sugar Estate.

Head of the Gas-toShore Task Force, Winston Brassington has previous ly stated that ExxonMobil Guyana, which is funding the pipeline aspect of the project out of cost oil, has found that there would be substantial savings from combining these two facilities.

The scope of the approxi mately US$900 million gas-toshore project also consists of the construction of 225 kilome tres of pipeline from the Liza field in the Stabroek Block off shore Guyana, where Exxon and its partners are currently producing oil.

It features approximate ly 220 kilometres of a subsea pipeline offshore that will run from Liza Destiny and Liza Unity Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels in the Stabroek Block to the shore. Upon landing on the West Coast Demerara shore, the pipeline would con tinue for approximately 25 ki lometres to the NGL plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara.

The pipeline would be 12 inches wide, and is expect ed to transport per day some 50 million standard cubic feet (mscfpd) of dry gas to the NGL plant, but it has the capacity to push as much as 120 mscfpd.

The pipeline’s route on shore would follow the same path as the fibre optic ca bles, and will terminate at Hermitage, part of the WDZ which will house the gas-toshore project. (G3)

A section of the GPL grid at Good Hope

FERRY SCHEDULE

WEATHER TODAY

Govt considering calling in Police over DHB accident

An atmosphere of chaos on board the

MV Trade Wind Passion preceded its col lision into the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB), as the Master of Ship shout ed to the ship’s pilot to drop anchor and the bridge frantically signalled the pi lot to stop… all to no avail, as the ship went on to ram into the bridge, causing billions in damages and rendering the bridge inop erable for three days.

Harbour Bridge were func tional and working. All the other vessels that passed through, said that every thing was ok. The Harbour Bridge man calling and telling you to stop, you’re out of alignment. You’re not responding,” Edghill further related.

“The master of the ship,

was heading south and was the last of five vessels to cross through the bridge, which had to be out of com mission over the weekend and opened on Monday to light vehicular traffic. A scheduled arrangement was subsequently put in place for vehicles carry ing less than 18 tonnes

ed drug and alcohol tests on the boat’s pilot and the results were negative. Reports that the crew was sleeping at the time of the accident had also been de bunked.

24 months’ suspension In the meantime, the Panamanian fuel ship re mains in Port Georgetown pending the outcome of the investigation and the com pletion of repairs to the bridge. It is meanwhile known that the Board of Inquiry has recommended in its report that the river pilot’s licence be suspend ed for 24 months.

In an exclusive inter view with this publication, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill explained that after considering all the Board of Inquiry (BoI) has uncovered following a week of investigating the MV Trade Wind Passion’s collision with the bridge, he is contemplating submit ting it to the Commissioner of Police for a criminal in vestigation.

“This is an accident that could have been avoid ed, had they listened to in structions. The investiga tors went so far, to send the pilot for an eye test, a hearing test, colour (blind) test. It’s part of the report. Because if people telling you something and you’re not responding… what does that suggest?”

Edghill pointed out that not only was the pilot in good health, but persons on and off the ship were giv ing him instructions that he failed to heed, to avert the collision. Additionally, both the pilot and the ship have gone through the re tracted bridge multiple times before while trans porting oil, thus ruling out inexperience.

“All the lights and navigational aids at the

which is the foreign cap tain, gave us a statement that he told the pilot to drop anchor and he wasn’t following instructions. He could hear, he could see… he has gone through the bridge hundreds of times… it’s not a first-time voyage for either him or the ship.”

So far, the ongoing re pairs to the DHB follow ing the collision have al ready racked up a bill of over $1 billion… money that Edghill has already made clear that the com pany which owns the ves sel will be held financial ly liable for, to pay for the extensive works being car ried out.

According to the Minister on Thursday, they have already done all the necessary legal paperwork. The ship is meanwhile le gally under arrest, because the State has filed all the necessary paperwork.

During the retraction for marine traffic in the wee hours of October 8, the fuel ship, which was trans porting fuel to the Guyana Oil Company (GuyOil), crashed into the bridge. The damage to the criti cal structure was extensive with at least four spans and a pontoon affected.

At the time, the vessel

as works continue on the bridge.

Following the accident, local authorities conduct

The River Pilot, Kenneth Cort, who has over two decades of ex perience, is among six Guyanese who are con tracted, through an asso ciation, to navigate vessels traversing local channels.

…ship's pilot failed, ignored calls from own crew to drop anchor

“The Harbour Bridge man calling and telling you to stop, you’re out of alignment. You’re not responding. The master of the ship… gave us a statement that he told the pilot to drop anchor and he wasn’t following instructions. He could hear, he could see… he has gone through the bridge hundreds of times… it’s not a first-time voyage for either him or the ship.” – Minister Juan Edghill

A damaged section of the bridge

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill

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Professional development for teachers

Education is a fluid, evolving, continually-changing landscape, and teachers have to keep in step with that process. Thus, there is critical need for ongoing professional development (PD) for teachers, perhaps presented by master teachers in each school.

While this training must focus on the latest pedagogy, it must not ignore other factors that impact the teaching-learning dynamic. For example, the two biggest strengths of ‘awesome’ teachers are their capacity to develop emotive connection, and build trust with their students. Thus, teacher training must include emotive connection and trust-building, as well as empathetic communication, which is critical to both.

As well, PD would ensure that teachers are staying abreast with whatever schools and the system introduce at any and all times – instructional methodologies such as the workshop model, for example; differentiated instructions to ensure the needs of all students are met during instructions; types of assessments beyond standardised tests; classroom management without corporal punishment, et cetera.

In fact, it is highly recommended that all teachers do basic education courses in order to become adept with learning/ teaching styles, (John Dunn), multiple intelligences (Gardner), differential cooperative group learning, curriculum- based assessment skills to continuously measure learning, especially of the slow learners, to share with parents. Teachers must not only be fluent with the cognitive taxonomy of objectives of Bloom, but also with the affective domain to effectively define instructional objectives (scientifically) according to cognitive and emotional levels of students. And there should be teacher training in violenceprevention, conflict-resolution, psychosocial skills (at the levels of teachers and students), social problem-solving, social and emotional learning, role-playing, supervised interactions, studentcentred instruction, basic learning disabilities such as dyslexia, modelling and reinforcement exercises.

Mentoring is another critical need. Experienced teachers can allow into their classrooms as observers other teachers, especially inexperienced ones, with each such session being followed by the exemplary teacher helping the observing teachers to unpack, clarify, seek additional details. The other side of the coin is exemplary and/ or master teachers observing the classes of the other teachers, and then meeting with them to unpack, guide and mentor.

Additionally, new teachers should be provided with mentors, drawn from either the current teaching staff or retired teachers. No matter what kind of training and skill set a new teacher possesses, it is manifestly unfair to throw that teacher into the classroom without the help of mentoring. No amount and type of academic training prepares a teacher for the real-life classroom experience.

Periodic meetings of teachers according to grades (continuous improvement teams) are necessary to discuss grade level practices, instruction, effectiveness of instruction, student growth, team policies, behaviour, and areas/needs for improvement; as well as to share best practices, develop new strategies, and address any deficits. Grade level teams help to ensure consistency in instruction (academic, behaviour, and social) by allowing for all teachers of a particular grade to share and bring successes and challenges to the table, reduce teacher stress and burnout, invite the expertise of each individual person on the team to present itself as a resource for addressing challenges to maximise capital, problem-solve, share best practices, and plan according to identified student needs.

Teachers must also meet across subjects to analyse students’ performance data and come up with instructional plans based on such analyses. This fosters the process of evidence-based teaching, creates scope to group students according to needs, and offer related assistance as well as determine areas of weaknesses that would need reinforced teaching, and infer strategies to do so.

At the personal level, teachers should play a part in curriculum design, especially with respect to goal settings and standards to be met; be provided with an annual stipend for classroom supplies, and be paid for after-school teaching – evenings, weekends, holidays.

Consideration must also be given to teachers being provided with skills to address the various issues they come up against in the course of each working day. Thus, for example, why not provide anti-bullying training directly to teachers, perhaps using the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program - the most researched and best-known such program? Of course, a psychologist in each school…

Was Angela Lansbury a grande dame? No, she was warmer and friendlier than that

If the criterion is grand ness and grandness alone, then the grand est dame of them all was someone like Dame Edith Sitwell, the poet who, back in the 1950s, at the height of her grandness, would in timidate her enemies by regarding them through a pair of lorgnettes. These days, it’s a term generally reserved for elderly female actors – hearty, salty, im perious. Americans can do it, of course – Elaine Stritch, so very great, so very grand – but may struggle to ascend to the highest reaches of haugh tiness achieved by a Dame Maggie Smith or a Dame Edith Evans.

You can be a nation al treasure, meanwhile, without being a grande dame (fight me on this, but I’d say Dame Judi falls into this category). Which brings us to Dame Angela Lansbury.

On Tuesday, news broke of her death, aged 96, triggering an outpour ing of affection and sad ness for a cherished fig ure and one of the last of her generation of per formers. Mind-bogglingly, Lansbury started her ca reer in 1944, after mov ing to the US from Britain during the blitz, and land

Angela Lansbury in Sydney, Australia, in 2013 Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/ EPA

ing a role, as a teenag er, alongside Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet (1944). That same year, she appeared in the movie Gaslight, with Joseph Cotten and Ingrid Bergman. She was around for the heyday of MGM musicals. I remember, as a child, seeing her on TV in the 1946 movie The Harvey Girls alongside Judy Garland, and find ing it impossible to con nect her with the character from Murder, She Wrote. By the time she played the teapot in Beauty and the Beast in 1991 – at a mere 66 – her longevity alone had already made her be loved.

In the US, where Lansbury remained af ter emigrating, she was both a national treasure and grande dame. It feels churlish to say this, but, as

a musical performer, she was never quite my cup of tea. I saw her on Broadway in 2009 in a production of A Little Night Music, co-star ring Catherine Zeta-Jones, who did a quite frighten ing rendition of Send in the Clowns. Lansbury, as Madame Armfeldt, was a terrible old ham, yukking it up for an audience be side itself at the miracle of her being alive. I was im mune to her Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd. Her cam eo at the end of the mov ie Mary Poppins Returns, meanwhile, was the abso lute bloody kitchen sink in that mess of a movie. On the other hand, I loved her in Murder, She Wrote.

I’m not sure what this is. Perhaps something to do with TV being able to ab sorb greater levels of camp than musical theatre. This seems counterintuitive, I know; Broadway is sup posed be the ground zero of camp, except it isn’t, not really. The material in a musical is so florid, to be gin with, the performanc es have to be very tightly controlled to remain credi ble. There is a fine line in a musical between thrilling theatricality and every thing going Jack Sparrow.

For me, in her the atre roles, Lansbury had too much self-awareness. There was an archness

to her performances that seemed to wink at the au dience and suggest, well, this business of singing and acting is faintly ri diculous, after all – and of course, when you play it like that, so it is. As Jessica Fletcher, howev er, she convinced me total ly. I liked her as the tea pot. Given her god love ’er status, it’s a miracle she dodged being cast as a bat ty old dame in the endless current remakes of Poirot, but it’s possible I may have liked her in those.

Who is left? Dame Julie Andrews (87). Dame Eileen Atkins (88). Dame Joan Plowright (92). Bassey! I’m putting Dame Shirley (85) on the list, as you must. Anyone who sings I Who Have Nothing draped head to toe in mink and covered in diamonds deserves pos sibly the crown of grandest of them all.

Perhaps that was my problem with Lansbury. Never fully a leading lady in Hollywood, or quite a doyenne of the theatre, she seemed modest, lik able, approachable. Not a grande dame of the first rank perhaps, but some thing warmer and friendli er, whose loss may be more keenly felt. (The Guardian)

(Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist based in New York)

Dr Irfaan Ali was among several People’s Progressive Party (PPP) officials who paid their last respects to party stalwart Philomena Sahoye-Shury, CCH, at Freedom House on Saturday. Sahoye-Shury died at the age of 91 on October 2 (Office of the President photo)

B y E mma B rock E s

Tactics to frustrate GECOM

Editor,

is increasingly obvious that the PPP/C Government must be more aggressive in the pursuit of exposing the PNC/APNU/AFC’s desperate attempts and their role in the rigged 2020 Elections.

It was not so long ago that this PNC cabal led the most of fensive attempts at suppress ing our nation in full view of the world. They now pretend to be having a pious right to exercise, from a moral high ground that is non-existent. These treacherous actions the Guyanese people will not for get, and they must not be al lowed to slip by the wayside.

It is for a lack of expo sure that current adminis

trators of the lead party in the APNU/AFC Coalition are becoming emboldened as they continue the use of tac tics to frustrate all efforts by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) con cerning the holding of legit imate Local Government Elections (LGEs). A strength ened GECOM must be sup ported by all, and the slippery immorality of the PNC-led ca bal is highlighted.

Within the framework of our applicable electoral legis lation, GECOM has advanced efforts to realise the institu tion’s Constitutional mandate towards transparent conduct of the overdue LGEs. Albeit a little slow, GECOM conduct

ed the cycle of Continuous Registration and subse quent Claims and Objections Process. The Chief Elections Officer of GECOM, with the full support of his staff, has produced a particularly excel lent work plan for the hold ing of LGEs, targeting before March 2023.

GECOM was able to gen erate a verifiable Preliminary List of Electors after the smooth Claims and Objection process, with a one-week ex tension requested by the PNC/ APNU+ AFC. The foregoing serves to ensure that GECOM is now ready to hold Elections with the best possible Voters List. It is also noteworthy that GECOM has already com

menced the training of Polling Day staff in preparation for the LGEs. The institution is deserving of the necessary ku dos in this regard.

On the Opposition front, the administrators have been busy producing unjustified criticisms just for the sake of opposing. Having partici pated in the various process es by having representative scrutineers, they are hardly in any position to proffer any meaningful condemnation. Notwithstanding, the APNU/ AFC have submitted claims of 2020 elections anomalies that they suggest affect the final List of Electors.

In keeping with the Ruling of the GECOM Chairwoman,

the APNU/AFC must also quickly give to the Police the addresses of all the voters that the APNU/AFC claims were either dead or out of Guyana, and therefore could not vote in the 2020 National and Regional Elections. The Opposition now has an excel lent opportunity to produce to the Police all those claims of impersonation in the 2020 Elections.

Further, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton must not hesitate to produce his party’s statements of poll.

The disgruntled and mali cious leaders in the PNC are looking very spineless in their struggle to counter the build ing of the ‘One Guyana’ plat

form. The allegations of vot er impersonation and bloated List are now rubbish. The deliberate, reckless excus es that the PNC are making since they lost the Elections must stop. Their false and ex aggerated claims of margin alisation and discrimination are now falling on deaf ears, as our people are getting im mune to their lies.

The PNC’s failures and inability to produce proper leaders are certainly a hin drance to that party’s devel opment.

Guyana is ready for Local Government Elections.

Sincerely, Neil Kumar

Judiciary cannot evoke powers of usurpation on matters of the Executive

Dear Editor,

When eight Opposition Parliamentarians stormed the Chair and broke the Mace, it was their mistak en belief that this would have been glossed over by the House, and they would still be in attendance to con tinue their asininity. This is the bullying nature of the Opposition, who believe they can do any disgraceful act and get away with it.

Well, the few months’ ban without pay would have sobered them up, as well as given them enough time to think and act responsibly.

For too long, we have endured such base and disgraceful acts of the Opposition. Their be haviour has become intoler able, and it is high time for strict disciplinary actions to be taken. No civilised soci ety should have to put up with such vulgarity. This nonsense has to stop right now!

So, in typical PNC-style belligerence, they have ap proached a court of law to overturn the decision of the Committee of Privileges; that is, for that court to put them back into Parliament. In real terms, they are say ing we can just turn up our noses on the rules govern ing parliamentary decorum and have our way, irrespec tive of rules. But those days are long gone.

Lest we forget, and in the same token, let me re mind the PNC of the actions taken when Bishop Edghill refused to take his seat when asked to do so by the Speaker. In that instance, he was debarred from tak ing part in four consecutive sittings of the House. Now, when you judge the circum stances surrounding Bishop Edghill’s suspension, one would be sympathetic with the Bishop. Yours truly sup ports him on this note; how ever, the rules are the rules, and the Honourable Bishop had to bite the bullet. Well, it is their turn to do the same.

History has shown us that the same punishment

was meted out to Dr Jagan when he did the distasteful thing of throwing down the Mace. In his case, he was so totally fed up with the dis respect and the blatant rig ging of the PNC that he lost it. I am talking about the disrespect meted out to that man; it was so unbearable that even when he rose to speak in Parliament he was shouted down by a set of thug-like PNC Government MPs. Things definitely reached a head when the honourable gentleman, in a fit of rage, threw down the Mace.

I stand corrected, but in memory recall, Dr Jagan

had to sit out a full year in silence, and could not say a word. These are some of the dictatorial and bully ing punishments Dr Jagan had to endure. So, a mere four sittings’ suspension pales in comparison to what Dr Jagan and his PPP Government suffered at the hands of the PNC.

In the application of the disgraced octet engaging the courts for a decision on this matter, the jurisdiction of this case clearly prohib its the Judiciary from mak ing a decision or any acts of usurpation for that mat ter. The law provides for a clear separation of powers

between the Executive and the Judiciary. Making the statement that “The full court declines to consider

interim relief to suspended MPs” is just a mild way of saying their foolishness is dismissed.

Respectfully, Neil Adams

October 16, 2022

CANINE HEARTWORM

continued

Destruction of the immature stages

Dog’s Heart infested with Heartworms

Last week, we conclud ed the article by say ing that even after the adult heartworms in the right heart chambers (and elsewhere) have been killed by the series of specific injec tions, the problem is not yet over. The microfilariae (im mature stages of the heart worm) are still circulating in the blood. The drug of choice may not have destroyed them all.

This, in itself, is inter esting. The drug kills the adults, but may not kill the young immature worm, and the destruction of the micro filariae is critical to eradicat ing heartworm infestation. Having killed heartworms in the heart chambers, we should wait 7-10 days, not only for the disintegration

of the worms to set in, but also to see if the dead worms would exude toxins that could further weaken the dog, which has already been debil itated by the insidious course of the disease and by the bom bardment of the worm killing medication. Of course, sup portive therapy (improved

diet, supplementary vita mins, etc.) would have begun even before the treatment, and continued after the con clu sion of the

therapeutic interventions.

During those 7-10 days, the dog should be moni tored for complications in the functioning of the lungs, liver, kidney, etc. If every thing is relatively stable, we can continue to in stitute the chemical attack on the mi crofilariae with the same drug that kills the adult heartworms. We do that with the oral or inject able dosage of the drug

called Ivermectin. This drug is one of the major achieve ments in the constant quest to improve the artillery which is used to combat pet/ livestock diseases. I should also mention that two scien tists, William Campbell and Satoshi Omura, shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2015 for their work in discov ering Ivermectin, to combat roundworm-related infections

does not show the presence of microfilariae.

Remember, however, the point (and the reasons there for) I made previously: a neg ative result does not mean that there are no organisms in the blood.

After the second treat ment with the microfilari cide (to kill the immature heartworm stages), the blood should be monitored regu

and reduce the incidence of river blindness (a devast ing disease in certain coun tries in Sub-Saharan Africa), lymphatic filariasis, as well as other ailments. The drug treats approximately 25 mil lion people annually, pre venting new cases of river blindness. It also prevents roundworms in billions of livestock and pets around the world.

This drug claims to kill both ecto-parasites (ticks, fleas, lice, mites) and en do-parasites (intestinal worms)!! We know it kills the microfilariae and we admin ister it unhesitatingly. It is a powerful drug. However, be cause the heartworms are so dangerous and endemic in the region, vets do not think twice to use the Ivermectin, even if the blood examination

larly for at least another two weeks, and often in the ensu ing years, during which time the animal should be placed on a prophylactic regime of a routine administration of the microfilaricide.

Given that Guyana has ideal climate for the spread of heartworm disease, there are several species of mosqui toes that spread the microfi laria, and we continue to be plagued by the presence of strayed dogs (un-spayed fe males of particular concern), it is incumbent on caregivers to have their dogs checked, treated (if positive), and placed on the routine pro phylactic regime. If not, I fear that the disease will reach alarming rates in the future.

Next week we shall deal with the control aspect of this disease.

Heartworm Life Cycle (Ref: Merck Veterinary Manual)

Gold production from underground mines to surge in coming years – Bharrat …says companies setting foundation for rapid increase

With the preparato ry work current ly ongoing on var ious underground mines in Guyana, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat believes that over the next two to three years, gold pro duction from these under ground mines will surge.

In a recent interview with this newscast, Minister Bharrat spoke about min ing, specifically under ground mining. He noted the various companies that have started underground gold exploration, such as Australian Troy Resources.

Additionally, Aurora Gold Mines, now owned by Chinese company Zijin Mining after it took over the formerly Canadian owned mine back in 2020, has also embarked on underground mining.

“The underground min ing at AGM has already started, meaning the work

has already started. There hasn’t been any production as yet from the underground operation, but the work has already started. I know that significant investment is be ing made by both companies, to ensure that they start the process,” Bharrat said.

“The foundation is being set for an increase in pro duction. You know how the

gold sector works. The in vestment is made now, but maybe next two, three years down the road you will see the returns from those in vestments and you will see a significant improvement or increase in production, espe cially from the underground production from those two large scale companies.”

Bharrat also noted that

there are other large scale companies that have ei ther expressed an interest in coming or have already started. The Minister also noted that notwithstanding a dip in gold production at the half year, Guyana can expect a resurgence in the coming future.

“We have other largescale companies coming on board and showing inter est. Barrick Gold is here do ing exploration activities. Torparu mines is being con verted into a mining com pany now. Omai, there are exploration once again at Omai.”

“There’s also a large de posit or discovery in the Cuyuni area. So, these are all large deposits that have the potential to be developed into large scale mining com panies,” Minister Bharrat explained.

Barrick Gold Corporation is a Canadian company with

operations around the world. It had been announced ear lier this year that it would re-enter Guyana’s market and start exploration near the Karouni mining site in Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni).

Barrick Gold Corporation, in fact, part nered with Troy Resources last year. While Barrick’s partnership with Troy Resources is a new one, the company is actually no stranger to Guyana. Back in 2018, Barrick withdrew from Guyana after spend ing US$7.1 million on the Arakaka gold project, where it was in a joint venture with Alicanto Minerals.

And when Alicanto found gold in Arakaka in 2020, it had attributed previous exploration work done by Newmont and Barrick Gold Corp that provided them with the necessary data in clusive of geochemistry, geo

physics, and camp infra structure, for making the find. According to Alicanto, this all provided them with an excellent platform for discovering the gold.

Canadian company Gran Colombia Gold Corp, which is operating in Guyana, is meanwhile partnering with another recent entry into Guyana’s market, ETK Incorporated, for work on the Toroparu mine. Already, Gran Columbia has found gold in its Toroparu project in Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) that may even present opportunities for underground mining.

Last year, Gran Colombia had announced that it com pleted its two-phase dia mond drill programme, with 114 drill holes. According to the company, the drill ing programme confirmed the presence of deposits that could be mined through un derground mining. (G3)

Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat

Queenstown man wanted for obtaining by false pretence

The Police have issued a wanted bulletin for Andrew Clayton Hunte, 39, in relation to obtain ing by false pretence.

Police said his last known address was given as Lot 185 Lance Gibbs Street, Queenstown, Georgetown. The Police also said that the offence occurred between August 20 and August 30, 2022.

According to Guyana’s criminal law offence Cap 8:01 “Everyone who, by any false pretence, obtains from any other person any chattel, money, or valuable security, with intent to defraud, shall be guilty of a misdemean our and liable to imprisonment for three years…”.

As such, the Police is asking anyone with informa tion on Hunte’s whereabouts to contact them on 2256940, 225-8196, 226-7476, 225-2317, 225-8196, or 2271149.

Fit and proper…

…Parliamentarians??

Those

UWI lecturers who were involved with our Elections Recount - and pointed out that our politics has been “Judicialized” - did a good thing. They gave us a name for something that every Guyanese man, woman and child had been rolling their eyes about for quite a while!! And if you don’t have a name for something, while you can bitch and moan about it, you can’t really discuss it, can you?? “Dem palitichan who a guh Co’t fuh ev’ry damn t’ing” doesn’t really flow off the pen to write in letters to the press, does it??

But your Eyewitness doesn’t think it’s the worst option for our politicians, who vehemently disagree on every topic under the sun. First of all, they’re SUPPOSED to disagree!!

The only issue is “HOW?” Not by bopping each other over the heads with clubs, that’s for sure!! Whatever methods we might’ve used before the Brits dragged us across various oceans to our old mudland, they decided that when the disputes were against them, they’d read something called the “Riot Act”, then shoot us dead.

When the disputes were among each other, we were supposed to go to the Courts. And with politics, they insisted they’d stoically bear the burden of tutoring us on the fit and proper way to disagree. The rules declared you had to first announce you were a “politician”, and then get elected by the “people”.

Successful politicians who get elected become MPs and attend sittings of Parliament, where they can express their disagreements freely, once they call each other “Honourable”!!

The “people” gotta now accept they’re “represented” by “parliamentarians”, and they must “hold their peace”. Save writing to the press, which is the “guardian” of democracy. Of late, this has been changing, and some folks now believe that the “people” can still express their disagreements as “Civil Society”. The old guard disagree, and your Eyewitness suspects that’s where the slur “who elected THEM to tell the Government what to do” came from!!

Well, a while back, we know that eight APNU/AFC MPs clearly believed that “they could say anything in Parliament” meant they could DO anything they wanted to “express” themselves. They behaved “real ghetto”!! Parliament runs by its own rules, and “fit and proper” is decided by a “Privileges Committee”. They ruled - and handed down varying suspensions - that four behaved in “a gross disorderly, contumacious, and disrespectful manner”; and four even more egregiously for removing the Mace, and another for destroying Parliamentary equipment.

These’re now before the Courts, because they claim they didn’t get “due process”!! But here we are, Parliament is back in session, and the Courts are still determining “jurisdiction”!!

And the errant MPs continue collecting their salaries!!

…Oil refining

The Government’s getting more specific on the “modular” oil refinery for which they’d asked for “expressions of interest” (EoIs). It’s to be located at Crab Island; 30 acres gonna be allocated; cost oil crude gonna be sold; etc. But no one’s mentioned the possible little fly in the ointment mentioned by your Eyewitness. He’d googled what it’d cost for such a “modular” refinery for 30,000 barrels per day. And discovered that the SIMPLIEST one – dubbed a “topping refinery” –would merely distil off diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, AGO, LPG or asphalt. But would cost at least US$200 million!!

But your Eyewitness thought that the whole point of accepting the “bad name” we’d be getting for entering the “stink and dutty” refining business – as far as pollution goes! – was to guarantee us Guyanese cheap gasoline!! But, as you can see from the modular refinery’s list of products, we still wouldn’t be getting gasoline for our cars!! For that, we gotta enter the big leagues for triple the cost!!

What gives??

…investigation of DHB crash??

The investigation gives no explanation for the DHB crash. So how about - as suggested by your Eyewitness - deliberate sabotage??

“When you’ve eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

Wanted: Andrew Clayton Hunte

New 6.5km road commissioned in Corentyne to open up virgin farm land

later time, cross the Canje Creek because the intent is to open up new lands for farming, so that some of the younger people would be able to get their own lands to go into agriculture and to de velop this area.”

Edghill said the Number 58 new farm-to-market road is a true realisation of a statement he made during the 2022 national budget de bate, “you can’t eat roads, but roads make you eat”.

“Because of this road, we will be able to produce more; your investment would be

come more economically vi able...”

Linking to Corentyne coast to the Canje River via farm-to-market roads was initially proposed in a document to the previous Administration by then them Prime Ministerial Regional Rep Gobin Harbhajan but the coalition Government shelved the detailed propos al.

When the People Progressive Party took office, Harbhajan made the propos al available to Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha,

who took it to Cabinet.

According to Harbhajan, some 50,000 acres of farm land will be opened up be yond the Canje River.

“When I made the propos al, it was not for rice and cat tle alone. It was for the ben efit of existing farmers and residents. The access road go ing down to the Canje Creek will not only see rice and cat tle, it would see homestead, people doing business, tour ism at the Canje Creek. The Government will get value for money,” he told this pub lication.

Hundreds of farmers will benefit from a high-quality road as phased works on the farm to market road at Number 58 Village, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) was commissioned.

The 6.5km all-weather road was officially opened on Friday by President Dr Irfaan Ali.

The project has creat ed new land for agricultur al cultivation, adding to the already completed Number 52 Village farm to market all-weather road. Combined, the two roads will open up 50,000 acres of prime farm lands, presenting major op portunities for farmers in the region.

According to President Ali, these roads will allow farmers to cut costs in re pairing their vehicles and invest more into expanding their cultivation. The Head of State pointed out that in order for agricultural pro duction to increase, infra structure to support agri culture and food production must be transformed into a more effective transporta tion and production system.

“Secondly, there must be investment in research and development so that we can

have better yields, better crops and better varieties. Thirdly, we must utilise the best possible technology that would deliver to us in a sus tainable and resilient way.”

The President added that methods used in agriculture must be resilient so as to militate against the conse quences of climate change.

He further noted that the human resource is also criti cal in ongoing efforts to boost agricultural production.

“Our human resourc es are not only persons who would graduate from univer sity or a technical institute. Our human resource includ ed the farmers. How are we going to develop a strategy through which we can ed ucate our framers as to the best practices, as to the best options available in increas ing production or shifting production into areas sus tainable and high yield?”

Novelty road Meanwhile, Public Works

Minister Juan Edghill de scribed the road as a novelty road which has engineering technology that was nev er used in Guyana. He ex plained that it has three lev els of fabric.

“Geo-fabric – woven and

unwoven and then geo-cells with eight inches of crush er-run and then the asphal tic concrete,” Edghill ex plained.

While noting that $1 bil lion was budgeting in the 2021 National Budget to construct the new road and to upgrade the Number 52 farm to market road to an all-weather road, Minister Edghill pointed out the there is still a further stretch to be made into a road leading to the Canje River. However, two bridges must be con structed first across the Seaforth and the Fowler Canals. All of the compo nents and material for the construction of those bridges are already in place, he not ed.

“We were just waiting for this road to be completed so that the machines can now go in for the installation of those bridges.”

The $170 million con tract for the two bridges has been awarded.

“Once we are able to get across the Seaforth and the Fowler Canals, monies can be made available for the next phase of this road; which is the intent, to move this road all the way down to the Canje Creek and at a

Teacher punched to face by official at school sports

Ateacher attached to Skeldon High School was on Friday hit to the face by a senior offi cial on the Upper Corentyne during school sports and had to seek medical atten tion.

The incident occurred at the Skeldon Community Centre when a young teach er, Arfaz Hoosein, queried about a decision taken by officials at the end of one of

the races that the children were running.

Hoosein, who reported ly was not in favour of the decision, approached a se nior official with his que ry but was grabbed by his shirt collar. The move was deemed by some as an at

tempt to silence the teach er.

The teacher was then re portedly punched to the face by the official, causing him to sustain injuries.

But as persons sought an intervention from the Police on the ground, the cop said that the decision by the offi

cial to end the race was cor rect and there is nothing he could have done.

“Both ah yall gon get charge if yuh go to the sta tion,” the policeman said to the men on the field.

Hoosein has since filed an official Police report. (G4)

First Lady launches Entertainment, Recreational Parks in Berbice

First Lady Arya Ali launched an Entertainment Park in Corriverton opposite the Skeldon Market and a Recreational Park in New Amsterdam as part of her National Beautification Project being rolled out na tionwide.

She said the projects aim to emcourage quality fami ly time, ensuring that both kids and elders spend qual ity time with other family members.

It will also be a space where small cultural activi ties can take place.

When completed, the two projects in Region Six (East

Berbice-Corentyne) will be equipped with a parking lot, amenities for kids to play, a walkway, benches, and washroom facilities among others.

Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar said that the

projects are expected to start shortly and should be com pleted before the Christmas holiday.

Regional Chairman David Armogan, who was present at the launch, wel comed the projects within the region. (G4)

Arfaz Hoosein showing his injuries

CANU finds gun, ganja during Lethem raid

African Guyanese in rice

One of the challenges of cohabitation in a plural society with a history of ethnicised political conflict is the inevitable “social comparison process”. Hypersensitive persons see “slights”, or worse, when there may be none, bereft of “giving the benefit of the doubt”. This was exemplified recently in a letter by Mr Eric Phillips, reacting to a Guyana Times editorial, “21st Century Agriculture”. That discussed the Government’s efforts to modernise the sector, which had been dominated by sugar and rice.

Ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) discovered four pounds of marijuana during an operation con ducted in Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), on Saturday.

nabis was discovered.

A further search was conducted on another motor car which was also at the location and this resulted in the discovery of another quantity of suspected can nabis.

Ravi Dev

This passage earned Eric’s ire: “Towards the end of the 19th century, Indian Indentured labourers – brought in to replace African slaves on the sugar plantations – introduced a second commercial crop – rice.” He concluded that this statement “included skilfully deceptive language about the origin of rice in Guyana. The impression given by the author was that Indians were the first to plant rice in Guyana; or, as the language skilfully puts it: “on a commercial scale”. Phillips expatiated on the Dutch introduction of rice cultivation in the 18th century, and said this was subsequently practised by runaway slaves. He extended a quote from Dr Wazir Mohamed, “the slave population was not only prevented from planting rice officially, but was also prohibited by force of arms to do so unofficially”, to assert, “they did not have the freedom to plant rice either during slavery or after.”

However, eminent historian Dr Winston Mc Gowan offers a more nuanced perspective: “Enslaved Africans initiated rice cultivation in Guyana in at least three kinds of circumstances. Firstly, some of them who worked on plantations used a part of their free time to plant rice to supplement their meagre food allowance and to sell to other slaves. This practice continued until the end of slavery…Secondly, enslaved Africans were required to cultivate rice by a small number of planters, who used a part of their land for that purpose, no doubt, to provide food for their slaves. This was a rare occurrence.” Thirdly, there was the cultivation by runaway slaves mentioned by Mr Phillips.

But, as with Dr Wasir Mohamed’s explanation, that was during slavery. Following Emancipation in 1838, to their great credit, many freed Africans pooled their savings and bought abandoned plantations, into which half of their populace moved, founded villages, and cultivated their thousands of acres of lands. The question, of course, is why didn’t they grow rice on these transported lands? Dr Mc Gowan’s answer is, “The end of slavery in 1838 resulted in a decline in African participation in rice cultivation, for most of the ex-slaves opted to focus principally on the cultivation of ground provisions. An official report in 1848, however, does mention that rice was being planted in Berbice by Temnes.”

On Mr Phillips’s charge of “deception”, I surmise that because of the Guyana Times procrustean 700-word limit on editorials, the early introduction of African rice cultivation was not mentioned, just as the early efforts of Indian indentureds from the 1850s. It was only at the end of the 19th century that the sugar industry’s depression forced the state to end the constraints on sale of Crown Lands (100-acre minimum, and high prices) to facilitate interior gold mining. It was then that Indian time-expired indentureds started purchasing large acreage, and (as the editorial stated) rice became commercially viable. At this time, even African Guyanese who did not own village lands could have followed suit.

But there is a pertinent question for African Guyanese in the present focus on agriculture that harks back to the Black Bush Polder (BBP) rice development schemes in the 1950s under the first PPP Government. That was a key mobilising issue by the PNC in 1961 and 1964, since the overwhelming number of grantees were Indian Guyanese. That the selection criteria were facially neutral was irrelevant. After its installation into office in 1964, the PNC embarked on a number of initiatives to increase African Guyanese participation in the rice industry.

A section of Mibicuri – dubbed “Zambia” - was carved out for African Guyanese farmers, who were each given the same 2.5 acres for cash crop cultivation and 15 acres for rice farming. In the Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary Rice Development Scheme (MARDS), more than half of the 63,000 acres were leased to African Guyanese. This was replicated elsewhere, and they all had access to financing from GAIBank and GNCB. Today, however, most African Guyanese who have not sold off their lands are now leasing them to others.How do we ensure greater participation today?

CANU Headquarters in a statement on Saturday said their officers conduct ed an operation at Lot 85 Lethem where no narcot ics were discovered at the premises. However, a subse quent search was conduct ed at the empty neighboring house lot which led to the discovery of several parcels of suspected cannabis.

The suspected narcotics was taken to CANU’s Office in Lethem, where it tested positive for cannabis with a total weight of approximate ly 1.81 kg (4 lbs.).

Meanwhile, also on Saturday, CANU officers conducted an operation in central Lethem, where a search was carried out in an alleyway that is situated behind several properties. This resulted in the discov ery of a shotgun.

The shotgun was taken to CANU’s Office in Lethem.

Investigations are ongo ing.

Only a week ago CANU discovered over 34 pounds of marijuana during an operation conducted at Experiment, Bath, West Coast Berbice.

Reports are that CANU officers went to Lot 365 Experiment, Bath, where a search was conducted on a minibus, during which a quantity of suspected can

According to CANU, a 38-year-old man who was at home at the time of the search was arrest

ed and escorted to CANU’s Headquarters along with the narcotics and both mo tor vehicles.

The 10 parcels of narcot

ics tested positive for canna bis and weighed 15.8 kilo grams with a street value of approximately GY$4.7 mil lion. (G9)

The shotgun that was found by CANU

The ganja that was unearthed by CANU officers

Death of mother of 2 Woman claimed husband doused her with methylated, set her on fire

Aday

after 20-year-old Analee Gonsalves succumbed to her in juries while receiving med ical attention at the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH), her family released a recording of the woman de bunking claims that she was burned with porridge by her 24-year-old husband.

It was previously report ed that on August 23, 2022, Gonsalves was doused with hot porridge during an argu ment with her alleged abu sive husband at their La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD) home.

A relative of the dead woman told Guyana Times that they were first told that the woman was burned on

the face while cooking, but when they arrived at the hospital, they were told that she was burned with boil ing porridge by her husband

during an argument.

However, Guyana Times was informed that after the incident, an investigation was launched but it was de layed because Gonsalves had refused to give detec tives a statement.

This, the family said, was because the woman wanted to save her children – a onemonth-old and an 18-monthold – before telling them the truth.

It was further reported that this was not the first time Gonsalves was abused by the man.

Following the incident, the woman was admitted as a patient at the hospi tal with severe burns to her face, back, and other parts of her body.

Her husband, who was later identified as 24-yearold Ajay Persaud called “Nicholas”, had escaped and was on the run.

Woman’s version

However, on Saturday the dead woman’s grand mother told Guyana Times that after the rumour about her granddaughter being burned with hot porridge kept circulating, she along with family members re leased the recording of the woman’s statement to the Police and also on social me dia.

In the recording, the now dead woman, who seemed to be in excruciating pain, said that the tale her husband is telling is not true.

In the recording she is heard saying, “On the 23rd of August, we [she and her husband] had an argument concerning a boxers. He did wan go on the road and the boxers he did wan, it didn’t dry, it did wet and he start cussing and throwing thing and suh in de room. Ah had nuff work fuh do, ah had to look after baby, ah had to mek dinner, ah had to drop meh netting and ah get an gry and ah tek de cologne bottle and the cream and ah start throw dem through the window and while I throw ing dem through de win dow… ah mek he bird cage fall down.”

The woman continued relating her story saying, “So when the bird cage fall down, he starting cussing up that if me know how much he bird worth and nothing in de room ain’t worth more than he bird. He look fuh he cutlass but he ain’t find it. And den he come back and open de methylated bottle, I went on de bed with me one-month-old baby, she deh lie down a lil part away from me and I de sit down… he open de methylated bot tle… he start throwing it on me, and ah start stifle and ah turn over and lie down on meh belly and before ah turn round back, he spark he lighter… from behind...”.

She recalled that, “Meh baby went on the bed, ah didn’t want she get burn and the fire start ketch ing and he throw a sheet on me. And when he throw de sheet, the fire didn’t out and he pull me up but he couldn’t pull me up because de top that ah had on de al ready burn off.”

“Ah try pulling off meh pants and while ah pulling off meh pants he holler fuh Ashley, one ah he sister-inlaw that went home, only she de went home with we, she did cooking. When he

shout fuh Ashley, she run in de room and scramble the baby and then he guh and he shout fuh he mother from de veranda because she was at de street head not far from where we living. When he shout fuh he mother, she come in, when she come in now, she carry we at de hos pital. When we reach at de hospital, she tell me that leh ah don’t talk de truth that Nicholas bun me, leh me seh that ah de boiling porridge and de stove blow up and de porridge bun me,” the wom an is heard saying in the re cording.

“When we deh at de hos pital now, he (Persaud) get admit at Bess Hospital (for minor burns he re ceived) and me get trans fer to Georgetown (GPHC). The ambulance bring me (to GPHC) and lil after, he mother come. She did not inform my parents about anything, she tell de doctor dat she is my mother.”

“De next day (August

do to me. But, after de pain start getting overbearing, ah give a statement. And now a feel like giving up be cause de pain getting more worse and worse. Somebody got to do something about he. Somebody got to do something about he.”

“…and a want meh chil dren dem, when ah go home, ah want meh children dem.

24), one of her friends come and visit me, a lady name Sabrina. When Sabrina come, he (Persaud) call on aunty Sabrina phone fuh talk to me and he tell me dat how if I talk de truth he gon kill he self and kill meh two children dem, that is why I never give de correct state ment wah happen,” she ex plained.

The now dead woman claimed that after receiv ing the threat, she began thinking about her children and their safety. In the re cording, she said she was praying to get better to save her children, but that never happened.

“Ah de waiting fuh go home and get meh children dem and then talk wah he

Ah want meh mother to get control ova ma children dem,” Gonsalves cried in the recording.

Following the incident, an intelligence-led opera tion by the Police in Region Six resulted in the arrest of Persaud, who was later slapped with an attempted murder charge.

He remains in prison but is expected to make his next court appearance on October 20, when a murder charge will be instituted.

Meanwhile, the woman’s family said that they are hoping that the man faces the full brunt of the law and that justice for the death of the mother of two be served

Analee Gonsalves while hospitalised

Dead: Analee Gonsalves

Analee Gonsalves’s husband Ajay Persaud

Beforea courtroom packed with family members, friends and well-wishers, a newly admitted Attorneyat-Law has shared what her journey was like in reaching to the Bar.

Undoubtedly, Ismat Bacchus had been faced with many challenges, but it was the death of her father, whom she described as her number one supporter, which had left her most distressed. Determined to make her father and the rest of her family members proud, this young woman has overcome the challenges she had had to confront, and has become one of Guyana’s newest lawyers.

Bacchus, who graduated from the Trinidad-based Hugh

Wooding Law School (HWLS) last Saturday with her Legal Education Certificate (LEC) —the final academic qual ification to practice as an Attorney in the Commonwealth Caribbean — has been admitted to practise law in and be fore the courts of Guyana on Friday. Her petition was pre sented by Attorney-at-Law Kamal Ramkarran before act ing Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire, SC, at the Demerara High Court.

For the young lawyer, her Bar call was a “bittersweet moment”, since her dearly beloved father, who passed away during her final year in the Bachelor of Laws programme at the University of Guyana (UG), was not there to witness

According to Attorney Kamal Ramkarran, the Manickchand sisters assisted Bacchus to hone her skills for entry into the legal profession. “She has a great deal of prac tical experience, which will put her in good stead,” he said, as he presented Bacchus’s petition.

He shared that Bacchus, who has an avid interest in con stitutional law and intends to work at the Attorney General’s Chambers, plans to pursue a Master's in Investment Law and Foreign Policy with the hope of working with the Government to develop Guyana’s Foreign Policy.

The Chief Justice alluded to Bacchus’s law degree clas sification, and charged her to pursue her legal career with “distinction”: maintaining a high level of competence and excellence.

“In the pursuit of excellence and distinction, I would like you to always remember that the values of integrity and honesty must be foremost in everything that you do,” the CJ has advised.

As she does in all petitions, Justice George cautioned the new lawyer to be mindful of her conduct at the Bar: to al ways be respectful to clients, the court, and her colleagues. While encouraging her to maintain the path in which she intends to further her education, Justice George urged Bacchus to set aside time to “balance and rejuvenate”, in light of the tremendous amount of commitment, time, and effort the legal career demands.

The CJ told Bacchus that she expects her to be a leader at the Bar, and to assist the Bench with "thinking outside of the box”, as both sides work to develop the country’s juris prudence.

In her first address to the court, an emotional Bacchus recalled that she has always had two “distinct dreams”: one of becoming an Attorney-at-Law, and the other of working with an organisation in which she can play a tangible part in the development of society.

According to the newly admitted counsel, she had nev er seen herself being the traditional lawyer “coming to court and defending clients”; but, at the age of 20, hav ing gained invaluable experience while working with the Manickchands, her perspective changed. It not only allowed her to see the realities of the court process, but the impact the work at the Bar has had on individuals who come to the court seeking justice.

In the end, Bacchus thanked the multitude of persons who supported her throughout her legal studies, and espe cially remembered her late father, who according to her, en couraged her, and “so proudly boasted of her and her en deavours.”

this feat. Bacchus persevered, and completed her law de gree with distinction, after which she enrolled in the twoyear LEC programme at HWLS. During her time at UG and HWLS, she worked with Attorneys-at-Law Jaya and Priya Manickchand. The latter person is Guyana’s Minister of Education.

Global biking expedition leads Charles Lemieux to Guyana

Fourteen

years ago, Charles Lemieux picked up his friend and their bikes to create a new adventure just out of spontaneity. Little did he know, he would be biking his way through the world and presently exploring Guyana – the Land of Many Waters.

As he left Suriname and boarded a ferry to Guyana, Guyana Times caught up with Lemieux as he arrived at the Moleson Creek Terminal. With his bags of clothing, food and other essentials strung across his bike, the 34-year-old began his journey to Georgetown – counted as a four-hour drive but days with his two-wheeled mobile.

The Canadian-born na tional shared that while he had just biked for mere fun with his friend initially, it later sparked his interest to explore new places.

“When I was 20, my friend and I decided to bike from Quebec to Vancouver, which is 5000 kilometres and I never did any sports. But my friend has this idea and I decided to do it. We had no experience in anything and we did it. After that, I got hooked.”

In 2018, he left home in pursuit of this dream, rid ing through several countries in South America, until the pandemic hit. He was forced to return home due to trav el restrictions. However, this year, Lemieux began his un finished quest. Over the past weeks, he has made his way through Brazil, Suriname and now Guyana.

“I’m from the French

part of Canada – the prov ince of Quebec. I’m travelling on my bicycle with all the gears and bags that are very heavy. I started this trip four months ago in June from the north of Brazil but it’s actu ally the continuation of the trip I stopped two years ago due to COVID. In 2019, I had started to cycle from Tierra del Fuego, the southern tip of South America though the

Atlantic Coast in countries like Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and then through all the coast of Brazil,”

Lemieux explained.

As he rested his bike while waiting for the ferry, the Canadian national di vulged a little more of his journey and how he navigat

ed with a lone bike. He re counted camping along the route in a tent where it was needed, and also setting up his apparatus to make meals along the way. For him, the hot tropical weather has been a little discomforting.

“For me, I’m from Canada where it is very cold. So, this trip was very hot. Even after four months, I’m still not used to it. I need to adapt when I’m on the bike and take frequent breaks in the shade. In a lot of parts of Brazil, it was very hilly and the roads were very bad so it was very challeng ing. Even sleeping at night, it’s very hard because I find it too hot,” he chuckled.

The geologist by profes sion is looking forward to his time in Guyana, and is plan ning to island-hop around the Caribbean before he makes it back home.

“Every country I’ve been to, it was my first time. I didn’t know of Guyana so I’m trying to get to Georgetown and stay a few days there. I’ll see what to do and how I can cycle back to Canada. Maybe the next thing is to do island hopping in the Caribbean and then cycle though Central America.” (G12)

Canadian Charles Lemieux is biking his way through Guyana

The distance covered during his previous and current expeditions

She said the project “lies close to her heart”, since she believes that every tree is essential to the residents mainly for the purpose of the crabwood oil it produces.

“The amount of quali ties it has is important,” she said. The leaf is utilised as fertilizer, while the bark is used for medicinal purposes.

The seed is most import ant, since it is the source of the crab oil, used globally as a stimulant for healthy hair growth and for clear skin. In Guyana, the oil is almost al ways in demand by moth ers of young babies, since it is seen as a cure for the skin condition known locally as ‘trush.’

By AlvA Solomon

It

is an initiative which has ignited the village of Muritaro, an Upper Demerara riverine com munity some 25 miles from Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice). Loretta Fiedtkou has said that,

since she started replanting dozens of crabwood trees in that community, a marked sense of awareness and ap preciation of the “vital tree” has been evolving among residents.

Loretta Feidtkou, one of five Guyanese women select ed in 2021 by global entity

Conservation International to support its work in Guyana and South America, has embraced this initiative as part of the Indigenous Women’s Fellowship. “So far, I have replanted more than 70 crabwood trees,” Fiedtkou recently told Guyana Times

Fiedtkou has said the seed is also used by villagers as bait for fishing - a prac tice which, she noted with a smile, may be a little-known fact in Guyana. According to Fiedtkou, although loggers target the tree, her project is focused extensively on con servation.

Four-year wait

She said farming the crabwood tree is a tradition which her forefathers had undertaken, and she wants to ensure that her children benefit from that knowledge. She said she has planted the crabwood tree on multiple occasions as a common prac tice in her community, and from her experience, it takes 4 years for the tree to pro duce the seeds.

“So, what happens is that it bears a pod, and it (pod)

falls from the tree, and we gather the seeds,” she said.

The seeds are then boiled in a process which sees wa ter being added to the pot re peatedly, as the water is re duced by evaporation while the seeds are being boiled.

The seeds are then left to dry for a three-week period, before their flesh is extract ed and made into a dough in a manually-demanding pro cess. The dough is then set aside on a flat metal surface such as a zinc sheet, and the oil emerging from the dough

drips into a container. It can take an entire day for the oil to fill a container. The oil is then bottled and marketed.

Replanting process

Fiedtkou has said that, last September, she set out to undertake her proj ect after Conservation International-Guyana had green-lighted her proposal.

All the necessary project de tails were ironed out by that stage.

Loretta Fiedtkou is on a mission to replant dozens of crabwood trees in the village of Muritaro, an Upper Demerara riverine community where she resides

One of more than 70 crabwood plants which Loretta Fiedtkou planted last September at a patch of land at Muritaro, in the Upper Demerara

HEALTH TIPS FATIGUE

the cause of fatigue, and work to treat it.

CAUSES OF FATIGUE

There are many poten tial causes of fatigue. They can be divided into three general categories:

• Lifestyle factors

• Physical health conditions

• Mental health is sues

• For example, fatigue can result from:

• Physical exertion

• Lack of physical activity

• Lack of sleep

Dr. Tariq Jagnarine Family meDicine/

Fatigue is a term used to describe an over all feeling of tired ness, or lack of energy. It isn’t the same as simply feeling drowsy or sleepy. When you’re fatigued, you have no motivation and no energy. Being sleepy may be a symptom of fatigue, but it’s not the same thing.

Fatigue is a common symptom of many medical conditions that range in severity from mild to seri ous. It’s also a natural re sult of some lifestyle choic es, such as lack of exercise or poor diet.

If fatigue doesn’t re solve itself with proper rest and nutrition, or is suspected to be caused by an underlying physical or mental health condition, one should see a doctor; doctors can help diagnose

• Being overweight or obese

• Periods of emotion al stress

• Boredom

• Grief

• Taking certain medications, such as anti depressants or sedatives

• Using alcohol reg ularly

• Using illicit drugs, such as cocaine

• Consuming too much caffeine

• Not eating a nutri tious diet

• Physical health conditions.

Many medical conditions can also cause fatigue. Examples include:

• Anaemia • Arthritis

• Fibromyalgia

• Chronic fatigue syndrome

• Infections, such as cold and flu

• Addison’s disease, a disorder that can affect your hormone levels

• Hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid

• Hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid

• Sleep disorders, such as insomnia

• Eating disorders, such as anorexia

• Autoimmune dis orders

Congestive heart failure

Cancer Diabetes Kidney disease

Liver disease

Chronic obstruc tive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Emphysema

Mental health issues

Mental health condi tions can also lead to fa tigue. For example, fatigue is a common symptom of anxiety, depression, and seasonal affective disor der.

See a doctor if:

• Can’t think of any thing that might account for your fatigue

• Have a high er-than-normal body tem perature

• Have experienced unexplained weight loss

• Feel very sensitive to colder temperatures

• Regularly have trouble falling or staying asleep Depressed

If efforts have been made to address the most common lifestyle causes, such as lack of rest, poor eating habits, and stress,

without success, and the fatigue has continued for two weeks or more, make an appointment with a doctor.

In some cases, fatigue might be caused by a seri ous medical condition. Go to the hospital immediate ly if experiencing fatigue along with any of the fol lowing symptoms:

• Rectal bleeding

• Vomiting blood

• Severe headache

• Pain in your chest area

• Feelings of faint ness

• Irregular heart beat

• Shortness of breath

• Severe pain in the abdominal, back, or pelvic region

Thoughts of sui cide or self-harm Thoughts of harm ing another person

TREATMENT AND PREVENTION

A doctor’s recommend ed treatment plan will de pend on what’s causing the fatigue. To make a diagno sis, a doctor would likely ask questions about:

The nature of the fa tigue; including when it

started, and whether it gets better or worse at cer tain times

• Other symptoms

• Other medical con ditions

• Lifestyle and sources of stress

• Medications’ use

Several measures can help lessen fatigue caused by daily activities. To help boost one’s energy levels and overall health:

• Drink enough flu ids to stay hydrated

• Practise healthy eating habits

• Exercise regularly

• Get enough sleep

• Avoid known stressors

Avoid work or so cial schedules that are overly demanding

Take part in relax ing activities, such as yoga Abstain from alco hol, tobacco, and other il licit drugs.

These lifestyle chang es may help ease fatigue. It’s also important to fol low the doctor’s recom mended treatment plan for any diagnosed health condition. If left untreat ed, fatigue can take a toll on one’s physical and emo tional well-being.

Muritaro resident Loretta ...

She said she started her project by building a small nursery of crabwood seed lings. “After it reach a cer tain size, I transplanted it to the area which was demar cated for the project,” she said, noting that a little over an acre of land is being uti lised for the replanting pro cess.

She said the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), which has been involved in the project, would be provid ed with an update, and that body would undertake eval uation of the plants. “So that is the next step I am taking now - further monitoring of the project,” she said. She said she also tried replant ing the ‘hubadi’ tree, but soil conditions saw growth of this tree being curtailed.

Community involvement

Fiedtkou has said that, from the inception, she held several meetings on the crabwood replanting proj ect with the villagers and with the Village Council of Muritaro. She said she also

carried out capacity-build ing workshops with the vil lagers as part of the proj ect’s objectives. According to Fiedtkou, the project is long-term in nature. She ex plained that when the trees

begin to bear the pods, she intends to harvest them for the oil. This would have fur ther long-term benefits for herself and others, since the crab oil would provide a means of securing an in

come.

“Everybody will be most ly involved at that stage, because that is when we will have people involved in gathering the seeds for the oil and other uses,” she

said. “I see this as history. I see this as something where someone will talk about this project when I am gone,” Fiedtkou has confidently de clared.

She has said that this project is the first of its kind being undertaken in her community. However, she noted that crabwood oil pro duction has been an econom ic activity in the village over the years, but her project is the first initiative which in volves a strategic plan that involves replanting the crabwood trees there.

“We have residents who make the crab oil to sell, but I won’t say it’s on a large scale. Someone would pick up three bags of the seed and someone else would do likewise, and we make a 5-gallon of oil to sell,” she said.

She added that the ac tivity is undertaken at various times during the year, once the seeds can be sourced. She said, howev er, that there are persons whose main means of earn

ing an income if from crab oil processing.

Since commencement of the project, Fiedtkou noted, she has observed a marked awareness of the impor tance of the crabwood tree among residents, including the youths. “One person was advising me on placing rib bons on the plants, so that no one could cut down the trees; and on another occa sion, people were discussing the demands for the oil. So, it has this awareness that it sparked,” Fiedtkou has said of the replanting project.

Motivational factors

“What motivated me for this project is that, sev en years or so ago, I plant ed crabwood trees, and they bear within four years,” Fiedtkou said. In addition, she noted that the major reasons she pours her en ergy into the project are the economic value of the trees to the residents, as well as the conservation process in volved in the replanting pro cess.

A bottle of crab oil and the dough from which the oil is extracted are on display at the National Toshaos Council Secretariat, where Fiedtkou displayed her booth as part of her project undertaken by Conservation International-Guyana last week

Work ongoing to develop Guyana’s “Eye Bank” – Health Minister

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony has informed that Government is moving clos er to establish an eye bank, enabling better services for persons requiring corneal transplants.

It was highlighted that corneal transplants are con ducted at the Georgetown Public Hospital. In recent years, over 100 such opera tions have been done. With this facility, corneas can be donated and will be readi ly available for patients in need.

“We have, right now in the works, the develop ment of an eye bank where we will be able to produce our own corneas so that the persons who would need them can get them from pa tients that we have locally or donors that would have donated their cornea,” the Health Minister relayed.

The Ministry has been

working across the public health system to increase access to ophthalmology services.

Since taking office, he said efforts were made to completely rehabilitate the National Ophthalmology Hospital in Region Six, since it was in a deplorable state with defunct equip ment. Programmes were also restarted.

“If we start at the level of the National

Ophthalmology Hospital, we were able to rehabili tate the hospital. It was in a very bad state when we came back to Government. The microscopes, theatres, services that were being of fered were very minimal. All the microscopes in the theatre were not really working.

Given that a significant portion of people also suffer from diabetes, the Health Minister said retinopathy

services have also been ex panded to ably serve the population.

“One of the challenges we have in managing dia betic patients is that you have to do evaluation of the person’s retina to see whether there is deterio ration in the retina, some thing that is called retinop athy. To do that, you need specialised equipment so we have been able to expand services where it is not just offered at the Georgetown Public Hospital but we have at least three other sites offering screening for retinopathy.”

In a month, a snap-on programme will soon be introduced, whereby some 4000 persons in remote ar eas will benefit from imme diate treatment and spec tacles for their respective complications.

“We would be able to of fer spectacles for persons

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony

in remote communities, where we will be able to screen them to see whether they have an eye problem and if they do, to be able to rectify it almost instantly by giving them the specta cles,” he expressed.

In most instances, per

sons expressing eye com plications suffer from short or long sightedness, which is typically corrected with spectacles. With age comes the development of cata ract, which can be removed via surgery.

In the past week, World Sight Day was celebrat ed under the theme “Love Your Eye”. This annual ob servance is geared at rais ing awareness and promot ing good eye health, while advocating for regular screening.

In August, it was re ported that the National Ophthalmology Hospital at Port Mourant, Corentyne, had a backlog of some 1500 cataract surgeries still to be performed, and author ities were working assidu ously to reduce this num ber. At the beginning of this year, this backlog had stood at 2100 surgeries. (G12)

Contract signed for US$184M Railway Embankment expansion

The expansion project of the railway em bankment spanning Sheriff Street to Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, is in the mobilisation stage – af ter a US$184 million con tract was signed.

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill communicat ed in a recent interview that China Railway First Group Limited will be executing the project, having worked previously on the four-lane expansion of the East Coast Demerara public road.

“The contract was won by China Railway First Group. It is the same com pany that won the bid for the four-lane project on the eastern corridor. I think its US$184 million,” Edghill informed.

In the past weeks, ef forts have been geared at mobilising to get the proj ect rolling. The project is two-pronged: the comple tion of phase two of the East Coast Demerara road widening and improvement project from Annandale to Mahaica; and the construc

tion of a four-lane road along the railway embank ment corridor from Sheriff Street to Orange Nassau.

“I guess the final mobil isation and all of those ar rangements, that has hap pened over the last couple of weeks. So, they’re in the mobilisation stage and get ting those things moving.”

Only two companies had bid for this project. China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) – known for projects in Guyana such

as the upgrade works at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

China Railway First Group Company Limited, is also no stranger to Guyana, having been in talks with the Government since last year on the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP), to construct it in a Build-Own-OperateTransfer (BOOT) arrange ment.

The State-owned Chinese company has been

2 slapped with armed robbery, B&E charges

armed robbery committed against Himwattie Ramraj.

A brief statement from Police Headquarters not ed that the unemployed young man who has no fixed place of abode was arrest ed on October 12 by a Police rank of the Beterverwagting Police Station.

He appeared at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court where the charge was read to him and he plead ed not guilty. Bail was de nied and he was remanded to prison until November 25, 2022.

Two men, one from the Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), and another who is unemployed and has no fixed place of abode, were charged sepa rately on Friday for commit ting an armed robbery and the other for breaking and entering a home.

Magistrate Alisha George remanded 19-yearold Mwange Smith known as “Brandon Robertson” to prison for the offence of

The Police did not pro vide details about the al leged offence or when it oc curred.

Meanwhile, Police in Regional Division Number Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) arrested and charged Gary Johnson called “Shinkie”, a 45-year-old labourer of Lot 43 Danielstown, Essequibo Coast, for break and enter and larceny.

It is alleged that the man broke into the home of

John Lewis of Danielstown, Essequibo Coast, some time between Monday and Tuesday, and carted off with a 32-inch flat-screen televi sion, valued at $60,000, and a Black and Decker vacuum.

Johnson appeared virtually at the Suddie Magistrate’s Court on Friday, before Dylon Bess, and he pleaded not guilty to the charge. Bail was set at $70,000 and the case was adjourned to November 23. (G9)

involved in the AFHP since 2008 when the initiative was first conceptualised under a previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration.

This year, some $49.2 billion was allocated for road works. Of this amount, money was set aside for the widening of the ECD high way from Annandale to Mahaica, as well as upgrad ing the railway embank ment from Sheriff Street to Orange Nassau.

There is another con tract, the redesign, and widening of the road from Belfield, ECD, to Rosignol,

West Coast Berbice (WCB).

The Belfield to Rosignol road widening was intended to be a continuation of the East Coast Road Widening and Expansion Project, which was commissioned in 2020. The US$50.2 mil lion project was supposed to have two components: a four-lane expansion from Better Hope to Annandale, and an upgrade to the ex isting two-lane road from Annandale to Belfield.

Back in June when the contract for the East Coast Demerara-East Bank Demerara road link proj ect was being discussed,

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh had even talked about extending the four-lane road from Sheriff Street to Buxton and be yond.

At the time, a US$106 million contract had been signed between the Public Works Ministry and Indiabased Ashoka Buildcon Limited, for the construc tion of a four-lane bypass road that will link the East Coast of Demerara corridor at Ogle directly to the East Bank Demerara corridor at Eccles. (G12)

Specialist teachers upskilled in printmaking for CSEC preparation

Twenty-five special

ist secondary school teachers from six education districts have benefitted from training in printmaking, which is expected enhance prepa ration of students at the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) level.

These educators hailed from Regions Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara), Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) and Georgetown.

The workshop was aimed at providing teach ers with basic and advance skills in CSEC printmak ing techniques and fos tered the expansion of knowledge in the art form to aid teachers to better prepare students in the ex pressive form.

According to the Education Ministry, it was recognised that creativ ity and innovation must be carefully channelled to

meet the needs of society.

“As such, educating the nation in the Arts, particu larly Visual Arts, contrib utes significantly to the de velopment of creative and critical thinkers. Creative and critical thinkers are necessary to resolve com plex situations that exists in our everyday society. In congruency, the Ministry is positioning its teach ers and educators through consistent training to meet the needs of the 21st cen tury learner.”

Integration of the Expressive Arts (Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts) is the responsibility of Unit of Allied Arts. The department, in rolling out its mandate, has engaged the services of CSEC Chief Examiner, Wayne Branch to address the needs of the CSEC Visual Arts pro gramme.

In this regard, Branch facilitated the printmak ing and a one-day syllabus sensitisation training.

“The Revised Syllabus Meeting exposed thir

ty-five teachers from edu cation districts Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Nine, 10 and Georgetown to the CSEC Revised Visual Arts Syllabus effective for ex aminations from May-June 2024. This training al lowed teachers to carefully examine the syllabus and note major changes with the view to transition from teaching the current syl labus to the revised sylla bus,” the Ministry added.

The initiative of these trainings is a collaborative approach that is aimed at bridging the gaps to enable teachers to expand their competencies, knowledge, skills and concepts. This expansion will equip learn ers to acquire the skills necessary to successful ly respond to global stan dards.

“The training should not be seen as a compre hensive programme but rather an impetus for indepth investigation into various aspects of the sub ject,” the statement fur ther clarified.

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill

Educators benefitting from the printmaking workshop

Remanded: Mwange Smith

Charged: Gary Johnson

NEWS

Oil prices fall more than 3% on recession worries

Oil prices plummeted more than 3 per cent on Friday as global recession fears and weak oil demand, especially in China, outweighed support from a large cut to the OPEC+ supply target.

Brent crude futures dropped US$2.94, or 3.1 per cent, to settle at US$91.63 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell US$3.50, or 3.9 per cent, to US$85.61.

The Brent and WTI contracts both oscillated between positive and negative territory for much of Friday but fell for the week by 6.4 per cent and 7.6 per cent, respectively.

US core inflation recorded its biggest annual increase in 40 years, reinforcing views that interest rates would stay higher for longer with the risk of a global recession. The next US interest rate decision is due on Nov 1-2.

US consumer sentiment continued to improve steadily in October, but households' inflation expectations deteriorated a bit, a survey showed.

The improvement in consumer sentiment "is being viewed as a negative because it means the Fed needs to break the spirit of the consumers and slow the economy down more, and that's caused an increase in the dollar and downward pressure on the oil market," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

The US dollar index rose around 0.8 per cent. A stronger dollar reduces demand for oil by making the fuel more expensive for buyers using other currencies.

In US supply, energy firms this week added eight oil rigs to bring the total to 610, their highest since March 2020, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said.

China, the world's largest crude oil importer, has been fighting COVID-19 flare-ups after a week-long holiday. The country's infection tally is small by global standards, but it adheres to a zero-COVID policy that is weighing heavily on economic activity and thus oil demand.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Thursday cut its oil demand forecast for this and next year, warning of a potential global recession.

The market is still digesting a decision last week from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together known as OPEC+, when they announced a 2 million barrel per day (bpd) cut to oil production targets.

Underproduction among the group means this will probably translate to a 1 million bpd cut, the IEA estimates.

Saudi Arabia and the United States have clashed over the decision.

Meanwhile, money managers raised their net long US crude futures and options positions by 20,215 contracts to 194,780 in the week to Oct 11, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said. (Reuters)

Evin prison fire: Gun shots and sirens heard at notorious detention centre

Afire has broken out at Iran's notorious Evin prison, with footage posted online showing flames and smoke billowing from the area.

Gun shots and alarms have been reported as coming from the jail, the primary site for detaining political prison ers.

An official quoted by state media said "troubles" involv ing "criminal elements" were to blame for the blaze.

The fire comes as Iran continues to be rocked by its most intense unrest in de cades.

Protests have been taking place in at least a dozen cities across the country once again on Saturday.

They first erupted last month when anger over the death in Police custody of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian Mahsa Amini boiled over. Officials say she died from an

underlying health condition, but her family say she died after being beaten by moral ity Police. Hundreds of those detained during the protests have reportedly been sent to Evin.

As well as political pris oners, journalists, and many dual and foreign nationals are also imprisoned in Evin.

The prison has long been criticised by Western rights groups. Human Rights Watch has accused authorities at the prison of using threats of tor ture and of indefinite impris onment, as well as lengthy interrogations and denial of medical care for detainees.

A group of hackers call ing themselves Edalat-e Ali (Ali's Justice) posted videos in August last year of leaked surveillance footage from Evin prison showing guards beating or mistreating in mates. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Around the World

Haiti: People will die as country nears breaking point – UN

TheUnited Nations is warning that hunger in one of Haiti's biggest slums is at catastrophic lev els, as gang violence and eco nomic crises push the country to "breaking point".

Nearly 20,000 people in the capital's impoverished Cité Soleil area have danger ously little access to food and could face starvation, the UN says,

Across Haiti, almost five million are struggling with malnutrition.

"Haiti is facing a humani tarian catastrophe," a top UN official said.

"The severity and the ex tent of food insecurity in Haiti is getting worse," JeanMartin Bauer, the Haiti country director for the UN's World Food Programme add ed.

The poorest nation in the Americas is suffering acute political, economic, health and security crises which have fuelled a rise in violence and paralysed the country.

Powerful gangs have blocked Haiti's main fuel ter minal, crippling its basic wa ter and food supplies.

In the Cité Soleil neigh

bourhood, the UN said levels of food insecurity had reached the highest level on its clas sification system - Phase 5meaning residents have dan gerously little access to food and could be facing starva tion.

Bauer said Haitians "have gone through the gauntlet".

Anger at the Government's

handling of the country's multiple crises have boiled over into anti-Government protests. These have escalat ed to looting with at least one woman reportedly killed in clashes.

On Tuesday, the World Health Organisation said there had been 16 cholera deaths and 32 confirmed cas es, three years after an epi demic of the water-borne dis ease killed 100,000 people.

Another UN official said 100,000 children under the age of five were severely mal nourished and are especially vulnerable to cholera.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry has asked for foreign military help, but the call has been criticised by some Haitians who see it as foreign interference. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Jamaica bans music and TV glorifying crime

Jamaica's broadcasting authority has banned content that "glorifies illegal activity" - such as drug and gun use.

The new rules cover TV

and radio - including music - and list specific topics that are off-limits.

Scamming, drug abuse and the illegal use of fire arms cannot be "promot

Russian women pay the price in protests against Putin's war

ed" - and swearing or "near-sounding" replace ments are also banned.

But the strict nature of the ban has been criticised by some artists who argue music is a reflection of life.

It comes amid high levels of violent crime in Jamaica - in 2021, the island nation had one of the highest mur der rates in Latin America and the Caribbean.

But the broadcasting agency said the use of pub lic airwaves to broadcast songs that glorify illegal ac tivity could give "the wrong impression that criminali ty is an accepted feature of Jamaican culture and soci ety".

All forms of "illegal or criminal activity" are now prohibited in an effort to help keep the airwaves "clean", it said - and sta tion operators are required to take immediate steps to

comply.

Concern that offend ing content could normalise criminality among young adults and "vulnerable and impressionable" youths was also cited as a reason for the changes.

However, some of Jamaica's musical artists have criticised the move.

This is not the first time some music has been banned in Jamaica. In 2009, regula tors banned music promot ing sex, violence, murder or arson, when "daggering" - a type of sexually-suggestive dancing -gained in popular ity.

The broadcasting com mission's statement said while there had to be regard for freedom of expression, content promoting criminal ity conflicted with the "te nets of responsible broad casting". (Excerpt from BBC News)

Women in Russia make up a rising proportion of those being detained in protests against President Vladimir Putin's mobilisation for the war in Ukraine, data show, as many Russian men fear being sent to the frontlines if they demonstrate.

Court documents also show more women in Moscow being charged in relation to anti-war protests in February and March in the early weeks of the conflict than in an ti-Putin protests in previous years.

Among women protesters heading to central Moscow on the evening of Sept 24 was 19-year-old Lisa. Before she joined the crowd a Police of ficer in body armour grabbed her arm and threw her into a van. She spent a week in de tention.

Three days earlier Putin announced a partial mobil isation of reservists to fight in Ukraine, prompting tens of thousands of Russian men to flee abroad, often by circu itous routes.

"When the war started, I felt like my future was not happening anymore," said Lisa, who asked to use only her first name for fear of re percussions. "But I also start ed feeling guilty for thinking about my own future when people in Ukraine felt much more fear every day."

Russian authorities say protesters are detained be cause unsanctioned rallies are illegal under Russian law, which also forbids any activity considered to defame the armed forces.

Women made up 51 per cent of 1383 people arrested in the Sept 21 anti-mobilisa tion protest and 71 per cent of the 848 detained on Sept 24, according to data from OVDInfo, a Russian group that monitors protests.

The group, which de scribed the Sept 21 and Sept 24 protests as the largest in a series of anti-mobilisation demonstrations, said the ris ing share of women detained on Sept 24 came as some men feared being drafted if arrest ed. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Ecuador private oil pipeline reports spill following vandalism

The operator of Ecuador's private oil pipeline on Friday dis closed a spill in the Andean country's Amazon region, say ing vandals damaged tubing that was no longer in service and caused an unspecified quantity of crude still in the tube to escape into the envi ronment. The incident, which occurred on Thursday in an area known as Piedra Fina in Ecuador's Napo province, has not affected operations of the Heavy Crude Pipeline (OCP in its Spanish initials), com pany OCP Ecuador said in a statement.

The company said it "managed to control the inci dent and begin clean-up op erations," but did not speci fy how much crude had been spilled.

The OCP pipeline can car ry up to 450,000 barrels of oil per day.

The area where the spill occurred has been affect ed by regressive erosion ad vancing along the Coca river since 2020, which has caused problems for both the pri vately operated OCP pipeline and the state-owned SOTE pipeline. Personnel from Ecuador's Cayambe Coca na tional park were working to verify the extent of any pos sible environmental damage, the Environment Ministry said.

State-run oil company Petroecuador on Sept 25 re ported what it called sabo tage of its operation and dis closed issues at a remote oil well.

Petroecuador managed to contain most of the crude, it said this week, without spec ifying how much oil was lost, adding that it will carry out a technical cleaning of the af fected zone. (Reuters)

Across Haiti, almost five million are struggling with malnutrition

Russian Police officers standing guard during an unsanctioned rally, after opposition activists called for street protests against the mobilisation of reservists ordered by President Vladimir Putin, in Moscow, Russia September 21, 2022

ARIES

(March 21April 19)

TAURUS

(April 20May 20)

Follow your instincts. Mixed emotions will over come you if you feel pressured to make a decision. Keep the peace at home; it will be easi er to get things done on time. Compromise will be necessary.

Stay in the loop and watch what's going on around you. Be prepared to adjust to the changes that unfold. Jump at anything that allows you to use your skills, knowledge and ex perience to get ahead.

GEMINI (MAY 28June 20)

CANCER

Look for a creative outlet or get involved in something that concerns you. The nature of your contribution will encourage you to turn something you enjoy do ing into a regular engagement. Romance is featured.

Bide your time. Sit back and don't let trivial matters concern you. Take a break that allows you the freedom to laugh and enjoy the company of family and friends. Reach out to someone you care about.

Share your thoughts and in tentions with someone who has something to contribute, and you'll devise a plan and form a workable partnership. Distance yourself from anyone who ap pears to be uncertain.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Welcome change, new be ginnings and projects that make you feel good about yourself. Give your all. Plan activities with friends or rel atives and say yes to invita tions that interest you.

Keep your secrets in a safe place. Pour your energy into learning something new. Expanding your mind and paying attention to detail and what's trending will help you get what you want.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Bounce things around in your head for a while before you make any big moves. Look for a unique way to get oth ers to do something for you. Persistence and patience will pay off.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21)

CAPRICORN

(Dec. 22Jan. 19)

(June 21July 22) (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

LEO (July 23Aug. 22) (Feb. 20Mar. 20)

Listen to suggestions, but don't get involved in any thing that requires shared expenses. Keep some savings to fall back on, and you'll have peace of mind. Say no to excess.

You are overdue for a change. Consider your options and how you can complement what loved ones are doing. Speak from the heart and of fer others the same freedom you want for yourself.

AQUARIUS

Sometimes you must spend a little to make a lot. A fi nancial gain looks promising, along with socializing and personal improvements. Stop worrying about what others do.

PISCES

Test your skills, try some thing new and exciting, and follow your heart. Align your self with like-minded people. Choose to have a positive im pact on others. Teamwork will pay off.

Peanuts

Calvin and Hobbes

Dilbert

St Pius, Marian, West Ruimveldt, Winfer Gardens win big

Another Saturday was filled with exhilarating football action at the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground as the younger generation of ballers took to the field to display their skills.

Marian Academy and West Ruimveldt both had something in common; aside from winning their encounter, they were able to hammer home five goals against their respective opponents. Winfer Gardens Primary hammered home six, but St. Pius Primary outdid the rest of teams by romping to a 7-0 victory over Den Amstel Primary.

Ezekiel Lynch of St Pius

opened the scoring in the 7th minute, but before he could complete his brace in the 18th,

his team mate Omar Moses added another to the tally in the 7th. The second-half play

2-person team, best ball scramble golf tournament…

LGC to host Atlantic JZ Energy tournament today

With two short weeks remaining until the big year-end GTT Guyana Open golf tournament is held, Lusignan Golf Club is proudly hosting Atlantic JZ Energy’s exciting two-person team, best ball scramble tournament today, Sunday October 16.

This tournament, which tees off at 9am, would see players competing for trophies and exciting prizes, including Pro-v1 golf balls and other prizes. Today’s competition provides one last chance for players to have fun in a team setting and fine tune various aspects of their golf shots and strategies in preparation for the month-end two-day GTT Guyana Open championship.

Both female and male defending champions will be looking for incredible trifectas. Shanella London and Avinda Kishore will be defending their 2021 Ladies and Men’s titles, after both were able to capture “best golfer” titles a week ago at the Suriname Invitational.

If Kishore and London go on to win the tournament due to be played in two weeks, they would be crowning a remarkable year of dominance, and going into 2023 holding both countries’ “best golfer” titles.

Procedure of Play in today’s tournament: The team play will see both players teeing off from the teeing area. They will then choose which player’s ball position they would continue to play from. Upon selection, both players will play from that position and then select

again which position to play from. This will continue until completion of the hole.

CEO of Atlantic JZ Energy, Jessel Mohammed, an accomplished +2 handicap former college amateur and professional USA golfer, spoke at the launch of this tournament on Friday. Jessel will be host and player in his company’s inaugural golf tournament at LGC. He said the company is excited to join forces with the Lusignan Golf Club, and looks forward to making this best ball tournament a staple event each year.

Atlantic JZ Energy Inc is a joint venture company between Atlantic Marine Supplies Inc and JZ Energy Services Ltd, led by Jessel Mohammed and Vincent

Thakur. Our co-founders have combined twenty-one years of expertise in the regional oil and gas sector.

Golf is often described as 90 percent played between the ears. It involves one’s ability to think his/her way around the golf course, choosing their shots carefully, and balancing the risks versus rewards of each shot. In a similar way, the team at Atlantic JZ Energy, with 14 years’ experience in the oil and gas sector, must always figure out the best way to deal with pressure.

As is stated below the name on the company's website, the focus is on pressure control –Today’s winning pair will be the team that keeps the pressure of the moment under control.

produced the Octain Moore show, a skilful player who netted a hattrick in the 26th, 28th and 30th minutes. Javani Tullock added the cherry on top with a late goal in the 38th.

Redeemer Primary fought hard to grind out a 3-2 victory over F.E. Pollard Primary, with David De Costa’s brace in the 6th and 13th minutes giving Redeemer the start they needed. However, a brace from F.E. Pollard’s Darren Mc Farrell in the 9th and 17th minutes threatened Redeemer’s assurance of victory, until Adiel Hamilton found the winning strike in the 40th for Redeemer.

Enterprise Primary had a comprehensive win over Ann’s Grove. Jasha Haynes (6th, 10th), Dontay Kowlessar (18th), and Isandro Vincent (34th) crafted that win.

A hattrick from Christiano La Rose led the way for Marian Academy to secure a 5-0 victory over St. Margaret’s Primary. La Rose found the back of the net in the 12th, 16th and 39th minutes, while his teammates Maxwell Viapree (4th) and

Nyal George (10th), added one each for the win.

West Ruimveldt drubbed Colaaco Primary by the same margin. Aaron Archer (15th, 30th), Dane Vancooten (20th, 25th) and Malachi Alleyne (40th) were the marksmen for West Ruimveldt.

A single goal from Nathan Roberts in the 10th minute was all it took for Soesdyke Primary to triumph over North Georgetown Primary.

The final game of the day saw Winfer Gardens administering a 6-0 thumping

on St. Stephens Primary. Shamar Bishop found the back of the net in the 11th and 19th, while Niquan Harlequin also contributed a brace in the 26th and 29th. Andrew Robertson (35th) and Jaheem Jansen (32th) completed the tally.

Meanwhile, St Pius, Den Amstel, Tucville, Craig and Smith’s Memorial primary schools all enjoyed walkovers when they were intended to face Mocha, St. Agnes, Sophia, Graham’s Hall and Timehri Primary schools.

CWI pays tribute to Bruce Pairaudeau, former Guyana and West Indies batsman

Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Saturday paid tribute to Bruce Pairaudeau, the former West Indies and Guyana batsman who passed away at age 91 in New Zealand, where he had resided since the late 1950s.

Pairaudeau was a stylish middle-order batsman who had made a century on his Test debut against India at the Queen’s Park Oval in 1953. On that occasion, he scored 115 and added a then record stand of 219 for the fifth wicket with Sir Everton Weekes, who made 207. He ended his Test career in 1957 after amassing 454 runs in 13 matches.

Pairaudeau made his firstclass debut for then British Guiana at age 15, and played 89 first-class matches in which he scored 4930 runs, with 11 centuries. A significant portion of his first-class career was with Northern Districts in New Zealand, where he led them to the Plunket Shield title.

Speaking on behalf of CWI, President Ricky Skerrit said: “Bruce Pairaudeau was one

of the pioneers of the game in Guyana and the West Indies. (He) played a significant role in paving the way for others to follow, and for this he will always be remembered. He was a highly-regarded batsman, who made an immediate impression on the world stage with a top-class century

on debut. After he moved to New Zealand, he never lost touch with West Indies Cricket, and would always visit the team whenever they toured, to offer his support and encouragement.

CWI hereby extends our deepest condolences to his family and many friends.”

Bruce Pairaudeau speaking to Sir Curtly Ambrose during ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in Napier, New Zealand

From left are: Vincent Thakur, Patanjilee Persaud, Jessel Mohamed and Paton George

It took Soesdyke Primary only one goal to upset North Georgetown

Action between West Ruimveldt (yellow) and Colaaco

AAG hoping for MoE involvement in IGG trials

TheLeonora Track and Field Facility would likely witness one of the grandest gathering of ath letes from across Guyana’s 10 administrative regions on Sunday October 30th, as they vie for opportunity to partici pate in a team that would rep resent Guyana on the region al stage in the Inter Guiana Games.

Placement on the team would be determined by com petitive trials being hosted by the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), who are keen to have countrywide involve ment in these trials, as the objective is to field the win ning team at these Games.

AAG President Aubrey Hutson has explained that the Ministry of Education and the Guyana Teachers Union

may have a role to play in helping to select the Guyana team for the IGG. He shared

with Guyana Times Sport,

“We may have to engage the Guyana Teachers Union, be cause the teachers directly will know of those athletes who are coming through to represent the differ ent regions at the National Championships. So, at the Inter-Schools’ level, we’re hoping to see those stars.

“We’re going to try our best to have representation from the AAG visit some of those meets, and try to en courage some of those ath letes on a one-on-one basis. But I think the widespread reach of the Ministry of Education may be more ap propriate for us, simply be cause sometimes the support systems in getting these ath letes out, spotting the talent, you need to find means of get ting them to these trials,” he explained.

Given that the Games are

open to students under 20 years old, Hutson shared an other reason to get MOE on board.

“We plan to get the no tice directly to the Ministry of Education for them to use whatever method of dis semination of information to schools; for them to alert them about these trials, and let them know (that) for the athletes to be part of the IGG team, they must be in an ed ucational institution - from University of Guyana all the way down to secondary school.”

Turning his attention to performances, Hutson has been pretty confident that the Guyanese athlet ics team would be able to do well against Suriname and French Guiana.

Giving his opinion on the competition to expect, Huts said, “By and large, the per formance the last time out was very good. We know par ticularly Suriname is work ing really hard on upping their programme, and the French should be here this time around, which should pose a different challenge to Guyana.”

“At the end of it all, we’re hoping to come away with better performances, and I think once we put in bet ter performances, we should come away with the kind of medals that we got the last time, or event better,” the AAG Boss confidently shared.

The Inter Guiana Games, last held in 2017, are set for November 25th to 27th, 2022.

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AAG President Aubrey Hutson

Flashback! A look at the IGG action the last time it was hosted in 2017

Berbice vs President's XI match abandoned

By Brandon Corlette at ProvidenCe, eBd

Overnight rainfall and early morning showers, coupled with wet spots on the sur face of the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, have forced a postpone ment of the third-round clash between the Berbice and President's XI teams in the Guyana Cricket Board’s (GCB’s) Senior Inter-County 50-over tour nament.

Already dominant in its performance, the Berbice team is aiming to improve on its perfor mance in Tuesday's final at Providence, even as it awaits determination of its opponent, either Demerara or Essequibo.

Having won two match es, the “ancient coun ty”, as defending champi ons, were keen to patch up their grey areas against the President's XI team, but conditions at the venue did not so permit.

After the match was

called off, Berbice Head Coach Julian Moore had this to say: "This does not change much for us. We al ready qualified for the fi nals after the second win. But in saying that, we wanted to play (against President's XI), we felt that there are certain areas that need to be improved. It was the perfect opportunity for the bowlers to get anoth er go, some of the batters to get some form. We are a bit disappointed, but, at the end of the day, we don't have control over that; so, we try and prepare for the finals as best as possible."

Asked what had most impressed him in the Berbice team, Moore dis closed: "From a batting perspective, we managed to put up partnerships, and big partnerships! In both games, we had two good opening partnerships, which is always good in set ting the foundation for the team. In the first game, against Demerara, it was exceptional for us to score 360-plus; but, from a bowl

ing perspective, we were able to take 10 wickets in both games! We had peri ods where the opposition counter-attacked, but the bowlers responded well."

For the Berbice team, Anthony Bramble has been Mr Consistent with the bat, while Jonathan Foo, Shimron Hetmyer and Romario Shepherd each scored some runs, and Rampertab Ramnauth showed promise.

Meanwhile, GCB President's XI Assistant Coach/Manager Andre Percival has described this match postponement as a missed opportunity for his players, especially those who did not get an opportu nity to show what they can do. "It is a miss, because some of the players who did not play would have got an opportunity to play; so, they are disappointed. Given the opportunity, they would have showed the selec tors that talent is around.

So, hard luck for the guys, since that is the end of the season," Percival has said.

Percival, a former na tional player, has said he had seen improvements in the performances of his players, with skipper Trevon Griffith scoring a half-century in the second

round against Demerara.

"Young (Kwesi) Mickle, who batted well, and young Matthew Nandu, who got starts…," Percival shared.

The tournament will continue today – Sunday,

October 17 - at Providence with Demerara playing Essequibo from 9:00h. The final will be played un der lights on Tuesday, October 18 from 14:00h at Providence.

Berbice Head Coach Julian Moore

President's XI Assistant Coach/ Manager Andre Percival

Berbice Captain Veerasammy Permaul signalling the match has been called off after a discussion with match officials (Brandon Corlette photos)