Guyana Times - Thursday, December 22, 2022

Over 4400 Guyanese employed through ExxonMobil

Since it first discovered oil in Guyana’s waters in 2015, oil giant ExxonMobil has spent more than $140 billion on local suppliers, and is responsible for over 4,400 Guyanese being employed to support its activities…64 percent of the industry’s workforce.

This has been explained by ExxonMobil local subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) in a statement on Tuesday. Asked how the country has benefitted from local content, Exxon Country Manager Alistair Routledge had the following to say:

“We’ve now achieved more than 4,400 Guyanese who are working in our industry. I think that’s more than 50 per cent of the workforce…which, when you think of the training required to build up the workforce in the country, it speaks to the early commitments we made around things like the Centre for Local Business

Development.

“Starting in 2017, working with other organisations like the TVET schools and the Ministries, to ensure that people are welltrained and available and able to contribute and play an important part in developing the nation’s resource,” Routledge said.

Exxon is also collaborating with Government to develop the Guyana Technical Training College Inc, an institution intended to deliver world-class training and certification to Guyanese workers in skilled areas that are vital to both oil and gas and the broader economy.

The five main skilled areas in which students would receive certification are: electrical; mechanical; instrumentation; process operations to support the oil and gas industry; and civil and building construction, to support the broader economy.

The Natural Resources Fund (NRF), which con-

tains revenue received from Guyana’s profit oil as well as royalty payments and interest earned, had a balance of almost $290.1 billion as at November 30, 2022, according to the monthly financial statements which have been released by the Bank of Guyana. A breakdown of this amount showed that the Fund had received $36.9 billion in profit oil payments for that month. Meanwhile, its total investment income had been $860.3 million at that time.

Earlier this month, the Government made its third withdrawal of oil funds from the NRF for the year -US$207.6 million (Gy$43B) -- with intent to use this money to finance Guyana’s national development plans.

President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge, has noted that while the money Guyana earns from oil sales and royalty payments importantly enables Government to be able to execute its works, there are many other ways that Exxon contributes to development in Guyana.

“We will have a much bigger impact as we invest in the projects, as we build the business through the development of local content,

and we’re able to give local businesses and people jobs and opportunities to grow, to develop skills, and to be able to become competitive internationally…

“We really want to play our part in the community, and so we take our corporate social responsibility as seriously as we do our commitments to growing the business and delivering job opportunities for people. And so, both as ExxonMobil ourselves and through our contribution to budgets and the projects that we’ve embraced, and of course the Greater Guyana Initiative, we are making some significant contributions to the community and to the development of the society and country,” Routledge highlighted.

Exxon’s Greater Guyana Initiative is a 10-year, $20 billion programme under which Exxon and its Stabroek block co-venturers would fund capacity-building projects that are in keeping with Guyana’s overall development objectives.

Exxon itself has had a packed year in terms of projects, with nine oil discoveries and the startup of the Liza Phase 2. And next year will be an even busier year

for the oil company, with its third project in the Stabroek block, Payara, expected to come on stream.

“We’re drilling a number of exciting exploration wells, and I look forward to the results of those. We have another major project startup with the Payara project coming before the end of the year, and of course many other projects and activities that continue to grow,” Routledge has said.

Through its local affiliate EEPGL, Exxon is the operator, and holds 45 per cent interest in the Stabroek block.

Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30 per cent inter-

est, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds the remaining 25 per cent interest.

The company is currently undertaking four production projects – Liza 1, Liza 2, Payara, and Yellowtail in the oil-rich block. It is estimated that when the Yellowtail development project comes on stream, production would climb to 810,000 bpd by 2027. The US oil major anticipates operating at least six floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels by 2030. (G3)

ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge

High

BRIDGE

1-month bonus, housing assistance for soldiers

– “Spend it wisely” – Ali

Thursday,

FERRY SCHEDULE

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Dr Irfaan Ali on Wednesday announced that soldiers, in keeping with his Government’s commitment, will once again benefit from a one-month bonus this year.

President Ali was at the time addressing the Guyana Defence Force’s Annual Christmas Luncheon. The bonus, which is usually tax-free, will be in addition to the 8 per cent salary increase as well as the salary adjustments the Head of State had previously announced for the Army.

“As you know, we had some difficult years. When your one-month annual bonus was taken away (by APNU/AFC). You remember that? So, in addition to all the benefits I just spoke about… in keeping with our commitment to our men and women in uniform, again I wish to announce your one-month bonus for this year,” President Ali said, to cheers and applause from the disciplined services members, urging them to “spend it wisely”.

Meanwhile, President Ali also revealed that soldiers would receive Government’s assistance in building their homes. He urged them to sign up with the banks under their home support programme.

Additionally, President Ali announced that on the Government’s initiative, representatives of the various banks would be present at Base Camp Ayanganna on December 28, to help the soldiers with their home plans – free of cost. Additionally, he told them that they could be approved for their loans on the spot.

“A few weeks ago, I was able to announce some adjustments in the salaries of the Privates, the recruit, acting Corporal and Corporals. And as I said, better days are ahead. I also said that we want to work with you to ensure you have homeownership. And to reduce the bureaucracy and all the complex-

ities surrounding you obtaining a loan.

“We’ve been able to negotiate with three commercial banks and the New Building Society. Interest rates of 3.5 per cent of loans below $4 million. And 3.75 per cent of loans below $8 million. Further, for all who have already been allocated your land, not only will you benefit from this low interest rate, but you

will benefit from the steel and cement that will be input from the Government to move you to homeownership,” President Ali said.

The Commander-inChief of the Armed Forces went on to outline his vision for the GDF, calling on ranks to continue to serve their country with pride and dignity. He noted that his vision for the Army included new equipment, so

they would be adequately equipped to do their job.

“As the Chief of Staff said, we’re now moving on enhancing the infrastructure of the military. Air Corps, new assets. Coast Guard, new assets. Military equipment, new assets. We’re investing to give you the best equipment, so you can be the best you can be for your country,” Ali said.

The reaction of the soldiers to the news of their one-month bonus

Commander-in-Chief, Dr Irfaan Ali serving lunch at GDF on Wednesday

Editor: Tusika Martin

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Alcohol-related violence

The litany of alcohol-related violence continues unabatedly to fill the newspapers and other media – especially in intimate partner and interpersonal relationships. But sadly, very little is being done to deal with the high level of alcohol abuse. While the scourge exists in all communities, like that other social pathology suicide, it is particularly prevalent among Indian Guyanese, with both arising from their indentureship experience. That origin also helped shape their reaction to alcohol consumption, which – a fact not widely known – is always socially constructed.

Provided alcohol by the plantation administration sometimes in lieu of wages, and facilitated later by permitting rum shops to be established outside “pay offices”, Indians expressed their frustrations with plantation life by venting their anger violently on each other. Violence – especially against wives and children — and alcoholism became a feature of Indian plantation life. This continued off the plantation into the present.

The epidemiological literature on alcohol consumption in New York makes a relevant point for us in Guyana: in measuring drinking problems, there were “clear cut, significant and persistent group differences…the groups with the lowest incidence of alcohol abuse, the Jews and Italians, have (a) the lowest abstinence rates among these groups, and (b) (especially the Italians) the highest consumption rates.” Alcohol abuse is a sociological problem.

Counterintuitively, then, the groups that drink the most and have the least number of members that abstain from alcohol have the least problems with alcohol abuse. One study of Irish-Americans in Boston over a 40-year period found that they were “7 times as likely to develop alcohol dependence as Italian-Americans — this despite the Irish-Americans having a substantially higher abstinence rate.” What is going on? If nothing else, alcohol abuse is not an individual idiosyncrasy, and socio-cultural factors are as crucial as physiological and psychological ones.

“Ways of drinking and of thinking about drinking are learned by individuals within the context in which they learn ways of doing other things and of thinking about them. That is, whatever else drinking may be, it is an aspect of culture about which patterns of belief and behaviour are modelled by a combination of example, exhortation, rewards, punishments, and the many other means, both formal and informal, that societies use for communicating norms, attitudes, and values.”

Another counterintuitive finding of anthropological studies is that aggression is not ineluctably linked to alcohol consumption. “Worldwide, however, such (aggressive) behaviour is typically quite rare, even among people who drink a great deal. Numerous anthropological studies demonstrate that alcohol-related violence is a learned behaviour, not an inevitable result of alcohol consumption.”

“The way people comport themselves when they are drunk is determined not by alcohol’s toxic assault upon the seat of moral judgment, conscience, or the like, but by what their society makes of and imparts to them concerning the state of drunkenness.”

“Cross-cultural evidence from diverse populations around the world shows that some have habitual drunkenness with little aggression, others show aggression only in specific drinking contexts, or against selected categories of drinking companions, and so forth. Such widespread and diverse variation contradicts the view — shared by both `common sense’ and much scientific writing — that characterises alcohol as having a relatively direct pharmaconeurological effect in triggering aggression.”

What has also been shown to be true is that cultures into which alcohol was forcibly introduced as a measure of control within a very compressed time had no time to evolve positive drinking norms, and in fact imbibed the foisted notion that the alcohol was a precursor to “letting off steam”. This was the case with Indians in the Caribbean. “The major colonial powers exported to those areas of the globe that fell under their control not only models of drunken behaviour, but also a host of beliefs about the effects of alcohol on human beings. It may be that the widespread belief in alcohol as a disinhibitor is nothing but an ethnocentric European folk belief foisted on subject peoples around the world during the heyday of colonialism.”

We can take steps to avoid a COVID Christmas

By Kit yates

The resumption of festive events, including Christmas parties, pantomimes and nativity plays, has meant many of us have been doing a lot more indoor mixing. Annoyingly, these are exactly the right conditions for the spread of airborne respiratory viruses such as colds, flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and, of course, Sars-CoV-2 – the virus that causes Covid-19.

Cases of Covid are on the rise again. The Office for National Statistics’ weekly infection survey estimates that about 1.3 million people across the UK are currently infected. The Zoe symptom-tracker app has shown a 20% rise in cases over the past two weeks. A relatively new variant, BQ.1.1, has recently become dominant in the UK and is behind at least some of the recent surge. So, after two Covid-disrupted festive seasons, what hope do we have for a “normal” Christmas this time around?

First, things are looking better than this time last year, when the emerging Omicron variant ruined Christmas plans for millions. Nevertheless, Covid still has the power to throw a spanner in the works for us this year, as my brother and my nephew – who both recently tested positive – can attest to.

Although our risk of infection is not entirely in our control, there are still some things we can do to reduce the chances of Covid ruining the festive season. Perhaps the most straightforward is to ensure we are up to date with our vaccinations. Sadly, this will come

as little comfort to the millions of under-50s who are a long way out from their last booster and are not being offered another one. If you are eligible though, and haven’t managed to yet, get yourself boosted. While you’re at it, think about getting the flu jab too. Last week, hospital admissions with flu overtook those with Covid for the first time.

Wearing a well fitting, high-quality mask in situations where transmission is likely (such as when Christmas shopping or on public transport) can also substantially reduce your Covid risk. If you are hosting a Christmas get-together, try to improve the ventilation in the space by throwing open a window or two every so often. Fresh air is good, but you don’t have to have an arctic blast all the time. Even a small amount of ventilation can help to reduce the possibility of transmission. Given milder weather has returned, you may even think of braving an outdoor gathering. Unfortunately, rapid Covid antigen tests are not free any more, and the cost of living crisis means their regular use is too expensive for many. Nevertheless a preemptive

lateral flow test may be considered a worthwhile investment. And, if you are already feeling under the weather, think carefully about whether you really need to attend that Christmas party and run the risk of passing on whatever you have to your friends and family.

There are some mitigations – things that could help us reduce our risk of contracting Covid – that are sadly out of our hands. And at a time when the NHS is facing its bleakest midwinter, with nurses and ambulance workers taking strike action and patients facing unprecedented waits in A&E, you might think it would make sense for the government to do whatever is in its powers to relieve pressure on our healthcare system. Instead, more than 5,000 people are being admitted to hospital with Covid each week in England alone. That figure only looks set to rise in the coming weeks.

There are sustainable, non-restrictive interventions that could reduce the burden of Covid infection, but are not being implemented. Ensuring cleaner air in shared spaces – in offices and schools, for example – can significantly reduce

the risk of Covid infection, as well as preventing the transmission of other airborne diseases (such as flu). The economic benefits of better ventilation in commercial and community settings have been shown to far outweigh the costs of implementation. So why are we not doing it?

Other interventions such as improving sick pay, so people can afford to stay at home and not pass infections on to their colleagues or reducing systemic health inequalities would also mitigate against all manner of infectious diseases. That these are long-term measures should not act as an impediment to at least making a start on their implementation. If you don’t begin, you will surely never finish.

One embarrassingly simple short-term intervention the government could be encouraging is good public-health messaging. During a recent trip to Vienna, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, was seen sporting a mask. When questioned about it, he replied that it was necessary to “get back into the habit” in the face of rising Covid cases. Don’t hold your breath for similar messaging coming from the UK government. When it comes to Covid this festive season, the government’s policy seems less reminiscent of shepherds watching their flocks, and more of being prepared to let it grow, let it grow, let it grow. (The Guardian)

(Kit Yates is director of the Centre for Mathematical Biology at the University of Bath and author of The Maths of Life and Death)

Prime Minister, Brigadier (Retired) Mark Phillips handed over dozens of leases through the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) in conjunction with the Office of the President on Wednesday afternoon at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. Prime Minister Phillips also praised the GLSC for its efforts to provide leases to a number of females, noting that this provides opportunities for empowerment. In photo, the Prime Minister and recipients of leases (Office of the Prime Minister photo)

Work to commence on local law school next year – AG Nandlall

…says feasibility study ongoing

Guyana is currently in the process of conducting a feasibility study on the establishment of a law school here in the country and according to Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC, further work will commence in the new year.

During his weekly programme – Issues In the News, Nandlall disclosed that once that study is completed, the findings would be sent to the Council for Legal Education (CLE), which administers legal professional education in the Caribbean at law schools throughout the region under the Caricom Treaty, for further action.

“We’ve gotten the greenlight from the Council of Legal Education to begin the preparatory work. A feasibility study is being

worked on. It will be completed early next year and a report would be submitted to the Council of Legal Education,” the Attorney General stated.

Zeeburg fatal accident

Back in September, the Council for Legal Education in the Caribbean region agreed to accept a proposal from Guyana to set up its own law school. The Council

subsequently outlined the requirements the country needed to fulfil including the conduct of a feasibility study, which Cabinet agreed to do.

At present, the Counciloperated laws schools in the Caribbean are the Hugh Wooding Law School, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago; Norman Manley Law School, Kingston, Jamaica; and Eugene Dupuch Law School, Nassau, Bahamas.

For nearly three decades, Guyana has been trying to establish a law school within its jurisdiction as law students are forced to attend the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad. However, only the top 25 law students from Guyana are allowed each year into the programme.

Moreover, the high cost of living in Trinidad has

deterred many persons from further pursuing a legal career; in response, the Guyana Government now offers limited fully-funded scholarships to Hugh Wooding Law School.

Under the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration, attempts were made to establish the Joseph Oscar Fitzclarence Haynes Law School.

However, the Council was not approached about the project initially and when permission was eventually sought, it was denied in late 2017.

AG Nandlall reiterated during his programme that any law school that is established in Guyana will be done under the ambit of the Council. This, he explained, will also enable the country to capitalise on the overcrowding at the other insti-

tutions across the Region.

“The Government of Guyana will work in tandem with the Council of Legal Education and this law school that will be accommodated in Guyana will be a law school of the Council of Legal Education, it’s not going to be a Guyana law school. It will be a regional institution within the framework of the Council of Legal Education legislation that is in all the territories.

“It’s going to be like the Hugh Wooding Law School, like the Normal Manley Law School and it will be zoned to accommodate, of course, Guyanese students but more importantly, students from across the Caribbean. It will be a West Indian regional educational institution. Work will begin earnestly on that in the year 2023,” the Attorney General posited.

Driver charged, to spend Christmas in prison

pedestrians were seriously injured, and they were taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital by vehicles that passed by. However, Sewsankar was pronounced dead on arrival.

Daziel, along with three of the passengers, was transferred to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH). The drivers were tested for alcohol, but no trace of alcohol was found. (G9)

The driver of the minibus pulled right to avoid colliding with the motor car and while doing so, he collided with the right front section of motor lorry GWW 6801, which was heading West in the opposite direction.

Devon Daziel, a 35-year-old minibus driver of Vergenoegen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), was on Tuesday charged with the offence of causing death by dangerous driving, contrary to Section 35 (1) of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act, Chapter 51:02.

He appeared at the Leonora Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Zamilla Ali-Seepaul, and the indictable charge was read to him.

The matter was adjourned to January 18, 2023 for report and fixture.

Daziel was the driver of minibus BAB 1864, which was involved in a fatal accident that occurred on Saturday last on Zeeburg

Public Road, West Coast Demerara (WCD), which resulted in the death of pedestrian Gaitree Sewsankar, 37, of Sister’s Village, West Bank Demerara (WBD).

Police said that the accident involved motor lorry GWW 6801, driven by a 31-year-old; minibus BTT 1676, owned and driven by a 62-year-old of Tuschen, EBE and minibus BAB 1864 driven by Daziel.

At the time of the accident, there were 14 passengers in minibus BAB 1864, which crashed into Sewsankar and another pedestrian, her daughter Alliyah Sage, both of Lot 255 Sister’s Village.

Enquiries revealed that minibus BAB 1864 was

heading East along the northern side of the road at a fast pace when an unknown motor car, which was in front of the minibus, turned left into School Street, Zeeburg.

As a result of the collision, the minibus also hit minibus BTT 1676, which was parked on the northern side facing East, and then struck the two pedestrians.

Sewsankar ended up under the minibus Daziel was driving. All passengers, including the driver, and the

Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC

Dead: Gaitree Sewsankar

The accident that occurred along the Zeeburg Public Road, WCD

Question 1:

Foundation

Popsicle stick gingerbread houses

You’ll need

Popsicle sticks

Wallet-sized photo

Colourful Wooden beads Wooden discs (For the peppermints!) Puffy paint (For the gumdrops) Glitter

Faux leather scraps (For the doors. This could easily be replaced with foam, felt or fabric!) Red & white twine Brown, red, white & various rainbow hued paints Mod Podge

Strong non-toxic glue Hot glue

Instructions

Here’s how to assemble the popsicle stick gingerbread houses: You’ll need eight popsicle sticks to create the base of the house – you can make them whatever length you choose! Be sure to save the trimmings if you want to make gumdrops like I did. (Tutorial below.)

2. Line up the eight popsicle sticks and glue another popsicle stick horizontally across the bottom to glue them all together. (You’ll have to trim the popsicle stick so that it fits accordingly across the back of them!) I used hot glue for this, but you could use any strong glue.

3. Flip the piece over and glue another popsicle stick across, this time along the top.

4. Glue two popsicle sticks to the top, forming a triangle. Again, you’ll want to trim these based on how tall you want the roof to be!

5. Flip the piece back over and fill in the space of the triangle by gluing popsicle sticks horizontally across.

This is a great way to use up some of the scrap pieces you trimmed off of the other popsicle sticks! Now you’re ready to paint!

How to make the “candy” decorations Here are a few candy decorations we used, but there are endless possibilities for this part! Be sure to adjust the candy types based on your child and their age to ensure you’re using items that are safe for them!

– Peppermints: I used round disk beads that we already had. Painted a red and white swirl and let dry. Then I added iridescent glitter. To do so, I mixed some glitter with mod podge and painted it over the whole thing. Helps the glitter stay on better!

– Gumballs: If you have or can find already colourful beads, that makes this super easy. But if you have plain wooden beads or spheres, you can paint them any colour you want!

To paint the beads, I slid a bunch onto a bamboo skewer to make it easier to paint them all at once. Then slid them off carefully and let them dry.

– Gumdrops: Grab the trimmings from your other popsicle sticks and use those for this part. Cover the small end pieces with puffy paint to give them some texture. Let dry.

Then paint with a iridescent glitter/mod podge mixture and let dry again. Trim down to size.

Note: Some may crack slightly on the back when cutting, but the puffy paint should hold them together and you’ll never know once they’re glued onto the houses!)

To decorate your popsicle stick gingerbread house ornaments: Decide what size/shape you want the door to be and cut out a template.

Use the template to cut out your photo as desired.

Glue the photo to the bottom center of the gingerbread house. Decorate with the candies you created.

Cut out a door from the material of your choosing using the same template you used for the photo. Add trim to the door if desired. Run glue along the back left side of the door and glue along the left edge of the photo.

Add a loop of twine or ribbon to the back of the top of the house for hanging. Then hang ‘em high. (studiodyi.com)

By The BroThers Grimm

CONTINUED FROM TUESDAY

GCCI calls on City Hall to prosecute businesses caught littering …calls for harsher penalties for businesses & citizens alike

als who litter.

“GCCI encourages citizens and business owners to refrain from dumping garbage in the roadways and drains. There must be zero tolerance for individuals and businesses who contribute to littering… littering not only negatively impacts the environment, but poses serious health risks that a population of our size cannot afford.

“The Chamber urges the Mayor and City Council to impose harsher penalties on businesses and residents who dispose of their garbage indiscriminately. Concurrently, the Chamber

timely garbage collection,” GCCI noted, adding that this would deprive persons of using late garbage collection as an excuse.

Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall had previously noted that stiffer penalties were not needed, but rather an enforcement of existing laws. In fact, Dharamlall had directly called out City Hall.

“The problem that we have with City Hall… is that they are not implementing or enforcing the current punitive measures against littering and against the wan-

ers – including Government Ministers and President Dr Irfaan Ali himself – conduct massive clean-up campaigns.

While pictures of heaps of garbage on the city streets have been prominent on social media, the prosecution of businesses for littering has been far less prominent. But the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) is urging City Council to change this.

On Wednesday, the GCCI noted the harm that littering causes to the environment. It further noted that the Georgetown Mayor and City Council has a responsibility for solid waste and timely garbage collection.

The Chamber urged businesses in Georgetown to properly dispose of garbage and highlighted the garbage build-up on Regent, Robb, and Charlotte Streets. At

the same time, it called on the Mayor and City Council to impose harsher penalties on businesses and individu-

requests the Mayor and City Council acknowledge their responsibility for ensuring

1-month bonus, housing...

One week after announcing across-the-board salary increases for all public servants, President Ali had further rolled out additional salary adjustments for members of the Joint Services last month. These adjustments will see ranks getting pay raises ranging from 5.8 per cent to 21.7 per cent.

This pay hike, which will take effect from January 2023, was announced for ranks at varying levels within each of the Joint Services’ agencies.

According to President Ali, these increases will address the anomalies and disparities in the Disciplined Forces as it relates to comparable positions and dif-

FROM PAGE 3

ferentiated levels of experience. He added too that there was a mindfulness of the need to improve competitiveness, particularly at the entry level, so that the Disciplined Forces continue to be an attractive employment prospect for young people in Guyana. (G3)

ton disposal of garbage in the drains and on the streets of Georgetown,” Dharamlall had said.

The matter of garbage disposal takes on added meaning since it is not only the Christmas season, but the middle of the rainy season. Guyana recently had its third National Enhancement Exercise where stakehold-

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had urged citizens to practice responsible waste disposal during the Christmas season, as the Government continues its efforts to ensure a cleaner, greener Guyana. Minister Edghill was at time overlooking the massive clean-up efforts at the Stabroek Market

Square, Georgetown.

“I want to make a special appeal to citizens, whether there is organised leadership or not, let’s clean up.

Christmas is coming and at a household level people normally do a lot of cleaning. One of the things we don’t want to happen is when you clean up your households, you bring the old chair, the old fridge and the old stove and put it back on the parapet that we are cleaning up right now,” he had said. (G3)

Recent garbage pileup in central Georgetown (Photos by Solid Waste Manager Walter Narine)

GCCI President Timothy Tucker

City Hall

Appeal Court upholds former pastor’s conviction for child rape

…reduces sentence

The conviction of former pastor Andrew Hannibal for raping an underage girl has been affirmed, but his initial jail sentence of 40 years has been reduced to 25 years.

This was the ruling delivered on Wednesday by the Court of Appeal (CoA) of Guyana in the appeal filed by the sex offender against his conviction and sentence.

Hannibal was found guilty as charged by a jury in 2018 for raping a 15-yearold girl between January 29, 2016 and January 31, 2016 in the county of Berbice. High Court Judge Sandil Kissoon consequently imposed the four-decade-long sentence on the convict, and ordered that he must serve 30 years before becoming eligible for parole.

Shortly after his conviction, Hannibal mounted an appeal against his conviction and sentence, contending, among other things, that there were discrepancies in the prosecution’s case; that the trial Judge had failed to adequately direct the jury; and that the jail term imposed on him was manifestly excessive, and not in keeping with established sentencing guidelines.

In a unanimous decision rendered on Wednesday, the CoA held that although prejudicial evidence had been admitted during Hannibal’s trial, the trial Judge had given the jury sufficient directions/warnings in his summation to cure any defects that might have arisen.

The prejudicial evidence referred to by acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette CummingsEdwards, who delivered the court’s decision, comprised text messages purportedly sent by Hannibal to the girl’s phone, and the trial Judge’s use of the word “victim” to refer to the girl.

According to the CoA, there was no evidence to support the contention that the text messages were sent by Hannibal, since there was no official document to prove that the phone number belonged to him.

The appellate court also alluded to Hannibal’s ground of appeal in which he complained that Justice Kissoon had referred to the virtual complainant as a “victim” on no less than 20 occasions in his summing up, conveying to the jury that “she was in fact a victim of rape.”

The court agreed with Senior Counsel Mursalene Bacchus that the sentence imposed by Justice Kissoon was manifestly excessive, and not in keeping with recent sentencing guidelines given by Guyana’s apex court, the Trinidad-based

dered that he not become eligible for parole before serving 18 years, and credited him for time already spent in jail.

Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory-Barnes and Rishi Persaud also deliberated on this matter.

During the trial, it was revealed that the victim’s sibling awoke one morning and discovered that she was not in bed. She was found locked inside a room, where she later confessed to family members about what Hannibal had done to her at his home during the wee hours of January 30, 2016.

According to the facts, Hannibal had messaged the girl and had told her to meet him at the church. From there he took her to his home, placed her on a bed, removed her clothes and raped her. The girl was a member of his church, and would assist with cleaning the church.

Certain information disclosed by her led to a report being lodged at the Blairmont Police Station, and a medical examination done on her proved that she had genital injuries.

Moving on...

…with democracy?

That Lebanese fella Kahlil Gibran had a way with words, and one of his aphorisms has stuck: the moving finger writes, and having writ, moves on.” But the sentence that completed the thought is hardly mentioned, “Nor all thy piety nor all thy wit, can cancel half a line of it.” Meaning that once you’ve done something good or bad, no one –even God (piety) can undo it. In a word, in the real world of action and reaction, there’s no relevance to the word “forgiveness”. Call it “karma” or what you want, “as you sow, so shall you reap”!!

Well, it’s now been four years since the famous No Confidence Motion (NCM) in Parliament revealed the unchanged nature of the PNC. They’d been hiding under the fig leaf of “APNU” – and your Eyewitness hopes they realise that payback’s a bitch…even when it comes from the “moving finger”. In other words, that said finger can be a middle finger!!

So, let’s look at what happened since that famous night of Dec 20, 2018. Directly after, both Granger and Nagamootoo, President and Prime Minister (dem seh!) waxed eloquent about the existence of “true” democracy being reaffirmed!! The centuries-old Parliamentary tradition that if a Government couldn’t muster a majority on a vote, it has to resign was accepted as honouring the fundamental principle of democratic representative government!! Even though there were the now plaintive wails of “No, Charran! No! No! No!”, and a few well-directed elbow blows, all were proud we were following the rule of law!!

But after the next day – obviously following the dawning of realisation that they couldn’t plunge their hands at will into the (money) jar any longer for gold bracelets, bedroom sets, or whatever!! – it became a different story!! They suddenly “discovered” that even though they’d been elected to Government through a 33-32 MAJORITY in the 65-member House, when their MP Charrandas voted with the PPP on the NCM, to give the PPP 33 votes, that wasn’t the majority any longer!!

Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), though they were not available to the trial Judge at the time he had sentenced Hannibal.

The CoA has therefore resentenced the convict, and, in so doing, adopted the starting point of 15 years used by the CCJ in the local cases of Linton Pompey vs the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Calvin Ramcharran vs the DPP. To the base sentence of 15 years, a total of 10 years has been added, given the serious nature of the offence and Hannibal’s abuse of his position of trust, being a minister of religion.

According to Justice Cummings-Edwards, Hannibal was “required to be a shepherd to his flock”. The CoA therefore resentenced the sex offender to 25 years’ imprisonment, or-

During the hearing of Hannibal’s appeal earlier this year, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Natasha Bakker, had contended: “The trial Judge referring to the virtual complainant as a victim in the summing up… That may not have been the most sensitive choice of words in all the circumstances…[I] submit that in this case, like all others of course, the summing up has to be taken as a whole, and it would not be proper to simply zone in on the use of that word by the trial Judge while ignoring the overall context of the summing up…”

The State Prosecutor had submitted that the general directions given by the Judge to the jury were sufficient to cure his referring to the teenager as a victim instead of a complainant.

In reacting to the jury’s verdict, Hannibal had said, “Your Honour [Justice Kissoon] and members of the jury, I never knew this day would come, when I would have found myself in such a situation and have to experience such a decision. As a community leader and a pastor for over 29 years, never did I thought this day would come. I am very sorry; it is very painful. I know the community has lost its confidence in the church because of the expectations of me. All I ask for is leniency, so I can serve the time and resume back to society as a brandnew man.”

Hannibal was the founder of the Faith Deliverance Ministries located at Rosignol, West Coast Berbice (WCB), and he had opened several branches of his ministry across the country. (G1)

And this is the fundamental political action that the PNC’s gonna have to live with its consequences for decades to come!! How will they ever live down the ridicule from the region and beyond - represented by no other than the eminent Justices in the CCJ! – that they were willing to violate the Lil ABC rule on basic arithmetic just to hold on to power!! The rigging of March 2020 should’ve surprised absolutely no one! Also, the PNC’s gonna have to live with its conscience when it insisted that all the diplomats of the western embassies had to be hallucinating when they saw the rigging with their own eyes!!

Do these PNC people think anyone with take their allegations of discrimination and an “emerging apartheid state” seriously??

…in Fiji??

PNC loyalists insist that Burnham played an outsized role in world politics. But he’d be proud how his followers haven’t only kept up the tradition, but raised it to unimaginable heights. The PNC now influences states as large as the USA – the lone superpower standing – and as small as Fiji, that (strategic) dot in the Pacific Ocean!!

Think of it!! Wasn’t it right after Guyana’s incumbent President Granger – Burnham’s one-time protégé in the GDF – denied that the PPP won the elections because of all sorts of voting “malpractices“, such as the dead and migrated exercising their franchise – that US President Donald Trump did the same?? And don’t think it was coincidence. Didn’t Pompeo visit??

Now, over in Fiji, the ruling Fiji First party refuses to concede the election, and instead is waiting until MPs elect the new PM during the first session of Parliament. That’s the rule, but the session - scheduled for 21 December – has been delayed with no announcement from the President!!

As Indians’ homes are stoned.

…on security

You could’ve knocked your Eyewitness over with a feather!! Hamilton Green advising the PPP on Presidential security?? But after all is said and done, who knows the chinks in Guyana’s security apparatus more than Green?

From the inside!!

Convicted child rapist Andrew Hannibal

From L-R: Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justices of Appeal Rishi Persaud and Dawn Gregory

$2B hospital for Region 1 next year – Ali

3 health care in every region

President Dr Irfaan Ali has revealed that among his Administration’s ambitious plans for health care in Guyana, is the impending construction of an over $2 billion hospital in Region One (Barima-Waini).

In an impassioned speech to residents in Moruca, Region One, the President spoke of his Government’s investment in health care. Only recently, over $40 million was invested in a new surgical theatre at the Kumaka District Hospital.

“Right here in our healthcare system, last week, for the first time, we were able to do a surgery right here in Moruca with our new surgical wing in our hospital. Our focus is to ensure we can give your children the

best possible… healthcare,” the President said.

“In our country today, we are building four level-five hospitals, that is the highest level. The highest international standard. But whilst we’re doing that we’re investing in level-three services in every single region of our country,” he added.

Additionally, the Mabaruma Hospital was recently upgraded into a smart facility… just one of five hospitals that were upgraded through the Smart Health Care Facilities in the Caribbean Project, a joint collaboration between the Government of Guyana and the United Kingdom (UK). The President assured that more investments in health facilities in Region One were to come, including a brand-new hos-

pital.

“Not only are we building the hospital in Mabaruma and improving the service in Port Kaituma and Matthew’s Ridge. I want to tell you today that our plan in the coming year is to commence work to give you a brand-new hospital here, an investment of more than $2 billion, we will make in a new hospital here in Moruca,” President Ali said.

The Head of State meanwhile also announced that all Region One residents who have the entry requirements to become healthcare workers would be granted the opportunity to train

and study through the Government.

Last year, the sod was turned for a new $2 billion multi-specialty hospital, to be constructed in Suddie on the Essequibo Coast. Government is presently building several stateof-the-art health facilities across Guyana. There has even been talk of a stem cell facility.

More than $1.5 billion was invested in Budget 2022 to upgrade health posts and health centres countrywide. And in July of this year, the Government partnered with New York-based Mount Sinai Health System and Hess Corporation to trans-

form Guyana’s health care into a world-class service that will not only ensure accessibility and affordability for Guyanese citizens but also the Caribbean region.

To this end, an agreement between the three parties was signed at State House, where President Ali launched the National Health Care Initiative – a three-component plan that focuses on enhancing the country’s primary healthcare services, improving patient care and management at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and developing specialised services in cardiology and oncology with the

Private Sector.

To take the National Health Care Initiative forward, a Coordinating Steering Committee will be established with President Ali; Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer of Mount Sinai, Dr Jeremy Boal; and Mount Sinai Board Member John Hess.

Additionally, a National Steering Committee, comprising the Private Sector and Government officials, will also be set up to look into Guyana’s “skills divestment”, that is, to determine the local skillset and ascertain the deficit and skill filling.

President Dr Irfaan Ali in Moruca

Only recently, over $40 million was invested in a new surgical theatre at the Kumaka District Hospital

Ensure barrels are cleared in time for Christmas – Finance Minister to GRA staff

…inspects operations at GNIC, John Fernandes

wharves

Finance Minister

Dr Ashni Singh on Wednesday toured the Guyana Revenue Authority’s (GRA’s) operations at the various wharves in Georgetown in what has become an annual traditional undertaken during the busy Christmas season, when the year-end clearance process is in full swing.

In Wednesday’s visit, Dr. Singh inspected the operations at the Guyana National

Industrial Company (GNIC) on Lombard Street and at the John Fernandes Wharf on Water Street, met with GRA departmental heads to outline Government’s key priorities (including highest standards of integrity, increased efficiency, and delivery of high-quality services), and interacted with members of the public who were on site to uplift barrels and boxes.

Accompanied by GRA Commissioner-General

Godfrey Statia and other senior officials of that entity, Dr Singh toured the respective offices in the compound as well, meeting and greeting staff, and advising that they employ they their best efforts to ensure all holiday consignments are cleared before Christmas Day, so that respective recipient families could enjoy their holiday season.

Dr Singh has said that Government would contin-

ue to work towards rapid modernisation of Guyana through its efforts and investments, as well as in partnership with Private Sector entities.

“You have seen on most

ther modernisation of operations at the wharves, he said.

Further, he has urged the GRA staff to ensure they deliver efficient and effective service to taxpayers at

moved VAT from a number of essential commodities upon its return to office in 2020, and VAT has also been removed from locally-produced building and construction materials.

of our visits, both at the GNIC Laparkan Wharf and also at the John Fernandes Wharf, modern scanners that are able to scan barrels and small packages, and those are investments that we have been making overtime to ensure that, at all of the major ports of entry, we have the capability… and we have also been introducing risk management and risk-profiling systems and methodology within the GRA, all with the objective of deploying technology and data in a more efficient way, to facilitate more efficient Customs Operations and more efficient trade transactions and port transactions,” Minister Dr Singh is quoted as saying in a release from his office.

Singh has also highlighted that clearance of consignments would further be improved with the addition of two mobile cranes, which are soon expected to be operational at the John Fernandes Limited and Muneshwers’ wharves. These pieces of equipment would form part of the fur-

these facilities. Dr Singh had, in October, overseen the signing of an agreement between Muneshwers and IDB-Invest for a US$4M loan to enable procurement of Guyana’s first mobile crane.

In August 2021, in an

Further, on April 29 last, Government removed VAT from cement in support of the country’s massive housing drive.

Since its ascension to office, Government has indicated that it would use this period in Guyana to build

effort to ease the burden of higher cost to import container-goods into Guyana, Government had, by statute, reduced freight charges to pre-pandemic levels (March 31, 2020) in terms of the calculation of customs duties, excise taxes and input VAT on goods imported.

Government also re-

out, as quickly as it can, the foundation of a strong and competitive non-oil economy; and for this reason, Government is aggressively building out infrastructure as well as capacity in the country for modernised social services: roads, bridges, ports, hospitals and schools, among other things.

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh and GRA Commissioner-General Godfrey Statia during the visit on Wednesday

DNA testing equipment purchased, no more waiting time on overseas testing

One month after the Guyana Police Force (GPF) had vented its frustration at the lack of capacity to conduct DNA testing locally, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn said the machines have already been purchased, and would be put into operation soon.

During a briefing on Tuesday, Minister Benn said he was aware of the problems the CID faced in regard to DNA testing, and is happy to announce that the machines have already been paid for. Having DNA testing done in Guyana, he said, would minimise the waiting time involved in sending samples overseas for testing.

“…within a couple of months after they have done the testing, we will be in possession…to do our own

DNA testing in Guyana. The Guyana Forensic (Sciences Lab) will not have to wait to get DNA testing overseas. We no longer have the delay of burials for cases where the bodies or the remains are still waiting,” he said.

Benn said crime and criminality are one of the greatest hindrances to national development, and over the years, crime and criminality have had an extreme effect on Guyana, and it is time for this to change.

“The statistics we speak of are not mere statistics in themselves…the reduction we speak of over two years speaks to the improvement in the quality of the delivery of policing in our country, and this ought to be recognised…I want the Guyana Police Service to be the best Policing Service in the

Caribbean…”, he said.

Meanwhile, acting Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken, during his feature address, said the Police have done excellent work during the year, and their professionalism was evident in the way they went about execut-

ing their duties.

“It is important to note that, for us to maintain our posture in terms of professionalism, it is necessary that we develop capacity; and the most important resource is our human resources,” the Commissioner

has posited.

During a press conference organised by the GPF in November, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum had expressed frustration at not having the equipment to do DNA testing. He had said the criminal justice system was seeing a backlog of more than 20 cases due to the country’s inability to conduct such testing. While he could not have stated for how long that backlog had existed, the Crime Chief had said it had been ongoing for some time now.

“The lack of capacity to conduct DNA testing indeed is affecting us, because many of the cases are before the court, and there is a huge backlog. It is quite expensive to send these samples overseas. We were able to get some to a lab in Miami

recently, but we still have a backlog, and we’re hoping that that situation can be resolved as early as possible,” he had said.

It was announced in May of this year that Guyana’s DNA testing capabilities were set for a massive upgrade with procurement of the new equipment, which cost the state some US$300,000. It has been reported that even though the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory can perform DNA testing, there are challenges when those tests are to be conducted on badly decomposed bodies, and in other circumstances where sampling is poor. Currently, the Forensic Lab can conduct DNA testing for comparison or matching evidence to suspects, paternity testing, and family mapping. (G9)

E-Transactions/E-Payment Bills coming next year

allow for the use of plastic in public institutions’ payments. We have to move in that direction, dispense with money and so on and use cards in the public sector,” he explained during his programme “Issues in the News”.

through one source.

The Guyana Government is aiming to introduce laws in the new year to better govern electronic transactions and payments,

According to him, Government would introduce in the National Assembly the E-Transaction and E-Payment Bills, which would allow citizens to make payments via their debit and credit cards in a

more secure and comfortable environment.

“E-Transaction/EPayment Bills are also two pieces of legislation that will also come on stream (in) 2023. This is where we are going to introduce and

Introduction of these bills would support Government’s drive to develop a Single Window System, for which legislation has already been presented to the National Assembly. Implementation of the Single Window System Bill would allow citizens to conduct all of their necessary transactions with Government agencies

The Bill is structured in a way that would ensure citizens get to conduct services swiftly and efficiently within a specific timeframe, and that would aid in eradicating constant delays, maladministration, and bribery and corruption.

Nandlall explained that if a document sent to a specific agency is not completed within a given timeframe, it would automatically be considered approved.

“This Bill has a mechanism that when it goes to a particular office, if it stays there within a particular timeframe and it is not dealt with by that agen-

cy, it is deemed to be granted. Whatever that agency had to do, the law says it will be presumed that it was granted, and the application moves on,” Nandlall stressed.

Meanwhile, the General Register Office (GRO) and Immigration Support Services have only recently implemented their e-payment options through Mobile Money Guyana (MMG). This system was launched to allow persons to make online payments for transactions conducted with those agencies, so as to save time and have services offered to them more efficiently.

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn

Attorney General Anil Nandlall has announced.

Bills to abolish PIs, clamp down on domestic violence for 2023

…25 new pieces of legislation passed this year

The Guyana Government will be looking to pass a number of new legislation next year that will not only see the abolishment of Preliminary Inquiries (PIs) in the Magistrate’s Court but also the toughening of domestic violence laws.

This was revealed by Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC during his weekly programme – Issues in the News. He disclosed Government has passed an unprecedented 25 new pieces of legislation in the National Assembly this year.

“That must be the most legislations passed by any Parliament in the Caribbean… That is an average of two pieces of legislation s per month – that is a record by any standard… We would’ve doubled any other country in the Caribbean with that rate of enactment of laws. We don’t plan to slow down next year. In fact, we will be accelerate our agenda for next year,” the Attorney General asserted.

Going forward, the coun-

try’s legislative agenda will see a slew of other new laws being introduced and existing ones being updated in 2023.

According to Nandlall, Government will be moving to reduce the time persons facing capital offence charges spent on remand while awaiting trial in the High Court. This will see the removal of Preliminary Inquiries being conducted in the Magistrates’ Courts.

“Too many times, years are spent waiting for a Preliminary Inquiry into capital offences to be concluded in the Magistrate’s Court whereas most of the Commonwealth has abolished it and they do Paper Committals. So, you go straight from the Magistrate’s Court to the Judge and Jury [in the High Court] for your trials. It makes no sense having you wait three, four years in the Magistrate’s Court and on remand in the prison.”

With this change, however, the AG recognised that it will cause a build-up of cases in the High Court. But he noted that efforts would have to be undertaken to ad-

dress that backlog.

“We simply can’t continue with Preliminary Inquiries anymore. It’s outdated and the world has moved on. We’re going to move in the direction of abolishing it as almost every country has done in the Caribbean and most of the Commonwealth,” he posited.

In addition, steps will also be taken to strengthen Guyana’s plea-bargaining legislation. The Attorney General explained that despite having a modern plea-bargaining legislation, it did not seem to work; hence Government has commissioned a review of the law.

“Tell us what’s the problem and why is it not working? Why is it that the defence and the prosecutor can’t sit down and work out an arrangement in some cases, where it’s appropriate to do so? That’s happening in all over the world and it saves a lot of judicial time. It saves a lot of time in the criminal justice system,” Nandlall stated.

Another major piece of legislation to be rolled out next year includes a modern

Family Violence Bill, which is being fine-tuned.

The Attorney General pointed out that domestic violence – especially family violence and interpersonal violence – continues to wreak havoc in Guyana. The country’s current domestic violence legislation dates back to the late 1990s and while that law has somewhat worked, AG Nandlall contended that the rampant prevalence of domestic violence in the country warrants much more action be taken.

On this note, he revealed that Government was looking at models being used by other countries ,including the State of New York in crafting this new modern Family Violence Bill to tackle this societal scourge.

“The Domestic Violence Bill was civil in nature, this [Family Violence Bill will be] civil and criminal. The Domestic Violence Act, for example, you get restraining orders alone but the persons who are restrained still want to kill [and sometimes, do] kill the victim. Here, you have powers under this Family Violence Bill to lock

up people, keep them on remand and charge them with criminal offences. So, it’s a merger of civil and criminal law – a departure from the Domestic Violence law and an improvement. That is the deficiency of the Domestic Violence Act, it lacks penal sanctions,” he stressed.

Other major pieces of legislation to be rolled out next include the Arbitration Bill, Patients Personal Information Bill, Waste Management Bill and also an overhaul of the Sexual Offences Act.

Further, a new Public Health Bill is also being

worked on. According to the Attorney General, Guyana’s Public Health law is archaic. He pointed out that these inadequacies came to the fore at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“We always knew that we had to work on it, but after COVID, it became clear that we have to accelerate efforts. This is a massive undertaking. It’s a whole new public health infrastructure that has to be built in every region in this country. That is a work in progress. It’s going to take time and it’s a huge undertaking,” the Attorney General added. (G8)

Berbice man goes berserk and kills teen, injures another

Ateenager is now dead and another person has been hospitalised after a man who is believed to be mentally unstable went berserk and attacked several persons in New Amsterdam on the morning of Wednesday, December 21.

The dead teen has been identified as 15-year-old Carlos Leung, a student of the New Amsterdam Special Needs School, who had resided at Lot 834 Timmers’ Dam in Mount Sinai, Greater New Amsterdam.

The incident occurred at about 06:30h, as the teen was on his way to get a haircut to attend his school party. He was killed a few feet away from his home at Mount Sinai, also known as Angoy’s Avenue and Cow Dam in New Amsterdam.

And 26-year-old Carl Singh, also of Mount Sinai, has been injured by the 41-year-old suspect, a man

said to be mentally unstable, who has been arrested.

According to the Police, the suspect went to Singh’s gate and indicated that he wanted to buy chicken. As Singh approached, the suspect pulled out a knife and dealt him several stabs to his back and left side abdomen. Singh managed to escape his attacker by running down the street.

Moments later, the suspect attacked and killed Leung.

The teenager had been sent by his mother to get his hair cut before he attended his school party, and he was on his bridge with his bicycle when he was attacked. Police say the suspect reportedly walked up to the teenager and stabbed him in the chest before pushing him into a nearby trench and holding him under the water while he continued to stab him.

The teen was stabbed

five times to his left side abdomen, arm, shoulder, and behind his ear; and as his mother Michelle Bess attempted to rescue him, the attacker turned his attention on her, forcing her to hastily retreat into her yard.

Her husband Orlando Leung, husband of Bess and father of the stabbed teen, said his son had initially received two lacerations to his hand, being cut to his wrist and forearm before being submerged in the water.

“He sit down on my son chest until he dead, and no one come to the rescue!” the grieving man lamented.

Reports are that after Singh was attacked and an alarm was raised, several persons came out, but by the time they got to the suspect,

he was sitting on the teenager in the trench.

Singh’s father Deranja Narayan said Singh had left home to purchase poultry feed. “I waiting on him to come back and I starting to hear noise, so I come outside. From the time I walk out, my relative tell me that my son just get stab and his brother carry him to the hospital. When I come out here, I see he and the youth man – the youth man drowned.”

According to the Police, the suspect was assaulted by persons, and the Police had to escort him to where he could get medical attention. He received two lacerations to his right hand. The murder weapon, a knife, was retrieved from the trench.

Suspect’s encounter with neighbours

According to a neighbour, a few days ago, the suspect had invaded her house and had an encounter with a family member.

“He was in my house, and didn’t want to come out! I told my nephew, ‘Don’t hit him because he is sick; something is wrong with him. This man is so big and thick…when he got out the house and come out the yard, he fall in this trench.”

She said the intruder had gone back into her yard, and she had to plead with neighbours to call the Police. However, the Police never showed up.

“I told them to tell the Police to come for him before he destroys himself or hurts other people, but we never

got any help,” the woman has said. That incident, she said, occurred last week.

“I went and told his coworkers that something is wrong with him and it get bad, but I just left it like that”,” she disclosed.

Residents say the suspect has been living in the community for less than one year, and has been working at a car wash.

“For the rest of the day he was marching up and down, and I was just praying that nobody don’t come to face him, so that he could get to hurt them,” the woman has said.

The suspect remains in Police custody as investigations continue. A post-mortem is expected to be performed on the body of the late Carlos Leung. (G4)

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC

A resident trying to rescue the teenager from his attacker

Injured: Carl Anthony Singh

Dead: 15-year-old Carlos Leung

The injured Carl Singh being taken into surgery at the New Amsterdam Hospital

Scenes from President Irfaan Ali's outreach in Region One

Exxon’s partners do not need separate environmental permits – CoA uploads CJ’s ruling`

ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited.

The appeal was brought by activist Ramon Gaskin against the decision of the Chief Justice that was given in February 2020.

In a ruling issued on Wednesday, the Court of Appeal (CoA) upheld a decision by acting Chief Justice Roxane George, SC, that Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Ltd do not need separate environmental licences since they are covered under the one granted to

Gaskin had sought orders quashing the decision of former Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman to issue a petroleum production licence to the three companies Esso, Hess, and CNOOC to produce petroleum, as only Esso had applied for and obtained an environmental permit from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Liza 1 Stabroek Block oil operations.

Esso as the operator of the Block and petroleum operations had obtained the permit from the EPA. It had then “farmed-out” interests in the Block to Hess and CNOOC which had joined it as investors in the petroleum operations. Gaskin had challenged the then Minister’s decision to grant

the licence to the three companies as he complained that only Esso had a permit.

Gaskin contended that all three companies had to have obtained a permit or permits. As Esso had obtained its permit first, this would have meant that an additional permit or permits would have had to be applied for and obtained by Hess and

CNOOC. The Chief Justice after hearing arguments from the Minister and the companies, had upheld the submissions by counsel for the Minister and the companies, as she ruled that the Environmental Protection Act required that a permit must be obtained for each project; but there need not be more than one permit per project as permits were issued for projects, and not for the persons undertaking them.

Gaskin had also complained that the Chief Justice had taken too long to give her decision (at the time Her Honour had been presiding over the Noconfidence Motion cases and the further litigation that arose from those cases) and had infringed the provisions of the Time Limits for Judicial Decisions Act, which fixed a certain time for Judges to give decisions in the High Court.

The Minister and the companies had argued that the provisions of the Act

were directory and not mandatory (non-compliance did not result in the decisions being invalidated).

In upholding the CJ’s decision, the CoA consisting of acting Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud, ruled that the Environmental Protection Act required that every project must have a permit issued for it.

They found that under the Act, permits were issued for projects, and not for the developers who promoted the projects. They ruled that the Liza 1 project had a permit issued for it, and therefore there was no breach of the Environmental

Protection Act.

They also ruled that the provisions of the Time Limits for Judicial Decisions Act were directory and therefore the Chief Justice’s decision was not invalidated.

Gaskin was represented by Seenath Jairam, SC, and lawyers Melinda Janki and Ron Motilall.

The Minister was represented by Edward Luckhoo, SC, and Attorney-at-Law Eleanor Luckhoo, while the three companies Esso, Hess, and CNOOC were represented by Andrew Pollard, SC, and Attorneys-at-Law Nigel Hughes and Ashley Henry. Gaskin has indicated he will seek further recourse at the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). (G1)

Unvaccinated Region 2 woman latest COVID-19 death

…46 new cases detected

Guyana’s COVID-19 fatalities have gone up following the death of an elderly woman who tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The 86-year-old woman from Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) died on Tuesday, December 20, 2022. She was unvaccinated at the time of her death, according to the Health Ministry.

This is the first pandemic death recorded for the month of December. In November, there were four COVID-19 fatalities recorded, with the last being a 42-year-old male from Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), who died on

November 25.

With the death of the elderly woman on Tuesday, the total number of COVID-19 fatalities in the country is now 1286.

On the other hand, a whopping 46 new cases were recorded within the 24-hour reporting period, taking the confirmed cases in the country to 71,963.

However, only 247 of these cases are currently active, with one patient in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the remaining persons in isolation – eight persons in institutional isolation and the other 238 persons in home isolation.

There is also one person currently in institutional quarantine.

Additionally, some 70,431 persons have recovered from the life-threatening virus to date.

Since the outbreak of the virus in Guyana almost three years ago, some 32,983 males and 38,980 females have tested positive for COVID-19 from a total of 709,610 tests conducted thus far.

Back in March, the Guyana Government had removed most restrictions as the country recovered from the pandemic and returned to normalcy.

However, health authori-

ties continue to urge persons to get vaccinated and those who qualify to get their booster shots as an added layer of protection against the virus.

In his last COVID-19 update earlier this month, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony reported that there has been an increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases as well as hospitalisations across the country.

“We’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, an increase

in hospitalisations. So, we’re appealing to the general public to ensure that they take all necessary precautions,” he stated.

With the holidays here, Dr Anthony pointed out that persons needed to take responsibility and protect themselves during this time when COVID-19 infections are expected to spread.

Moreover, the Health Minister also cautioned that the COVID variants currently circulating mimic in-

fluenza or flu hence he urged persons to get tested if they had flu-like symptoms.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported that some 650,332,899 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been recorded globally, including 6,649,874 deaths.

In the region of the Americas, including the Caribbean, some 184,540,414 cases were reported along with 2,882,319 deaths. (G8)

Activist: Ramon Gaskin

Esso, Hess, and CNOOC Attorney-at-Law, Andrew Pollard, SC

CoA orders retrial for accused in 2014 Skull City murder

on the spot, and was pronounced dead on arrival at the West Demerara Regional Hospital. After the duo had stabbed Ramsundar, they had reportedly run away and flagged down a passing car. That vehicle happened to be that of an off-duty Policeman, who reportedly heard Thakurdyal telling someone via his cell phone that he had just “jook up” someone.

The cop had driven them to the Wales Police Station, where they were subsequently arrested. At the time of his arrest, the late Thakurdyal was reportedly found with a knife in his possession.

ed the jury on how to treat that bit of evidence, given a finding that [Ragnauth] was reasonably provoked. The Judge failed to give the jury any directions on that issue. It is our submission that the failure to give those directions resulted in a miscarriage of justice.”

The Court of Appeal (CoA) of Guyana on Wednesday ordered a retrial in the case of Vishawantie Ragnauth and her reputed husband Nyron Thakurdyal, who have both been found guilty of the murder of Ragnauth’s uncle, 39-year-old Sunil Ramsundar, in June 2018.

That killing occurred on Boxing Day of 2014 at Skull City in Patentia, West Bank Demerara, and following the guilty verdicts, the two were each sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment by Demerara High Court Judge Sandil Kissoon.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court, the convicts had, through Attorneys-at-Law Nigel Hughes and Narissa Leander, lodged appeals against their convictions and sentences.

In their grounds of appeal, they had, among other things, contended that Justice Kissoon had failed to put to the jury the defence of accident, the defence of self defence, and the defence of provocation; and that if he had so done, the verdicts might have been different.

The convicts had also argued that the Judge had failed to put the option of the lesser offence of manslaughter to the jury.

In delivering the CoA’s unanimous judgement, acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, said there was evidence to support that Thakurdyal had acted in self defence, since he had entered an ensuing argument between his wife and her uncle in order to protect his wife.

According to the Chancellor, the trial Judge had a duty to put these defences and the issue of manslaughter to the jury, because they were issues of fact for the jury to decide on.

Justice Kissoon’s failure to do this, she held, amounted to misdirection, and consequently rendered the convictions unsafe.

In the interest of justice, the CoA quashed the convictions and remitted the case to the January 2023 Demerara Criminal Assizes for a retrial, after having

taken into consideration the strength of the prosecution’s case and the seriousness of the offence.

Given the approach adopted by the CoA, there was no need for the Judges to review the pair’s appeal against their sentence, which they had argued was manifestly excessive.

Thakurdyal, a father of six, had, however, passed away in jail.

Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory-Barnes and Rishi Persaud also comprised the bench, while

Meanwhile, the pathologist had, in his testimony, given Ramsundar’s cause of death as shock and haemorrhage, and a stab wound to the neck. The pathologist had told the jury that there were also injuries to Ramsundar’s right forearm, right chest, left part of the neck, and jaw; and had noted that a puncture to an artery had caused excessive blood loss.

A Probation Report presented to the court back in 2018 had revealed that Thakurdyal had migrated with his family to the United States in 1985, but was de-

In relation to the defence of accident, counsel had argued that Justice Kissoon had failed to direct the jury on how to treat this defence. To make her point, she had said that her client is maintaining that Ramsundar came about his injuries as a result of falling onto a fence. Leander had reminded that during the couple’s trial, a pathologist had testified that the fatal injury Ramsundar had received to his neck could have been caused if he had fallen onto a fence which had an object protruding.

In light of the doctor’s opinion, Leander submitted that the trial Judge had failed to analyse this piece of evidence in his summation. She had further said that Justice Kissoon did not di-

rect the jury that it was not for the defence to establish that the injury was accidentally sustained, but rather for the prosecution to negate that defence.

According to Leander, an eyewitness had testified to seeing Ragnauth and her husband cuffing away at Ramsundar. She, however, had pointed out that the witness did not testify to seeing the couple armed with a knife or any other weapon. “Based on the injuries in the post-mortem report, we contend that those injuries are not consistent with what the eyewitness said… If she [the eyewitness] saw all of these cuffing motions and the State is contending that a knife was used, there would have been more than one stab wound based on the eyewitness’s testimony,” Leander had argued. (G1)

Suspect in $400M gold heist stabbed to death

Avendor whom persons in the vicinity said usually plied his trade on Regent Street, Georgetown was on Wednesday evening stabbed to death while allegedly selling on the pavement.

Dead is 22-year-old Mark Singh of Herstelling, East Bank Demerara (EBD). The stabbing occurred about 19:00h.

The incident occurred on Regent Street, between Avenue of the Republic and King Street, Georgetown. The now dead man was a suspect in the $400 million gold heist.

According to family members at the scene, the man was selling when someone walked up to him and began

heist that occurred between December 2021 and January 2022, at the home of a businesswoman of Mahaica, East Coast Demerara.

Forty-nine-year-old Bhaloonauth Seegobin, called “Krishna”, and his 24-year-old son, Satrohan Seegobin, called “Richie”, of Farm, EBD; 27-yearold Andray Duncan of Grove, EBD; and 51-yearold Damien Brummel of Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara (WCD) were also wanted.

Police stated that Singh, in the company of four others, stole 1000 ounces of raw gold, worth $400 million, from the businesswoman.

It was reported that the businesswoman discov-

Facts

The facts of the matter stated that Ramsundar was killed after he attempted to settle a dispute between his sister, his niece, and his niece’s reputed husband.

At about 22:00h on that fateful day, Ramsundar’s sister was assaulted by her daughter – Ragnauth – and her partner, Thakurdyal. Ramsundar had had asked his sister why she was crying, and upon learning about the assault, had approached his niece for an explanation.

However, a heated argument had quickly ensued, during which Ramsundar was stabbed about his body.

It was reported that Thakurdyal had held Ramsundar down while Ragnauth had stabbed him. Ramsundar had collapsed

ported on a narcotics-possession charge in 2003. He had then lived for nine years in the Bahamas, where he had done construction work.

Another Probation Report had stated that Ragnauth, a mother of three, whose past was described as “abusive”, had been verbally and physically abusive to her partners; and during her second relationship, her husband, whom she had married according to Hindu rites, had fled the home due to her abusive nature.

Appeal hearing

Given what had transpired on that fateful day, defence Attorney Narissa Leander had argued, the defence of provocation was available. She had submitted, “There was sufficient evidence on which the Judge ought to have put the defence of provocation to the jury; provocation did arise. The Judge ought to have direct-

stabbing him about his body. Singh immediately buckled, fell to the ground, bled out, and was later pronounced dead.

It is still unclear what might have caused the stabbing, and if Police were able to apprehend the suspect.

Singh was among five persons who were wanted in the $400 million gold

ered the gold missing only when she went to check in September and immediately contacted the Police.

It was further reported that the businesswoman is a gold dealer who, over the years, accumulated the raw gold and concealed same at a location within the confines of her home.

The trio were contract-

ed by the victim to conduct repairs to her home, during which they found the stash of gold, divided same between them, and went on a spending spree. During the investigation, detectives recovered three motor vehicles – two cars and one canter –as well as a quantity of raw gold.

In addition, two Police Officers that were stationed in Berbice who had reportedly received a tip-off about the robbery were arrested after they allegedly took a $6 million bribe to sweep the crime under the carpet. Further, another person was arrested and the Police were able to recover $6 million in cash, along with two motor cars.

Sometime later, Bhaloonauth and his son Satrohan were arrested and arraigned at the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court.

Bhaloonauth pleaded not guilty to the charge and was remanded to prison, but Satrohan pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Singh, Duncan, and Brummel were the men still on the run.

Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Natasha Bakker, presented the State’s case.

The late Nyron Thakurdyal

Murder accused Vishawantie Ragnauth

Dead: Sunil Ramsundar

Dead: Mark Singh

The scene of the stabbing incident on Wednesday evening

Region 2 records 47% decrease in serious crimes this year – Commander

…as cops rewarded for outstanding performance in 2022

erally good Police work in 2022.

Criminal Investigation rank Shamar Markus copped the coveted Best Cop award for the region. He received a trophy and a monetary prize of $50,000, while Sergeant Hilton Benjemin was awarded the runner-up position.

Markus expressed gratitude to the Region Two Police Department especially Commander Shivbaran and Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken, for their encouragement during the year. He told <<<<Guyana Times>>>> that he was initially stationed to work in Region Two in 2019 as a traffic officer, but owing to his hard work and dedication, he was subsequently transferred as an anti-crime officer.

Divisional Commander of Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Superintendent Khemraj Shivbaran has disclosed that there was a 47 per cent decrease in serious crimes in the region this year.

He made this revelation during the Regional Division’s Annual Awards Ceremony and Christmas Luncheon held on Wednesday at the Jaigobin Hotel Conference Room in Henrietta, Essequibo Coast.

According to Commander Shivbaran, this decrease is

credited to the hard work and sleepless nights of the team of Police Officers working in the region.

He expressed gratitude to the ranks in the Division for their dedication throughout this year, and also took the opportunity to commend the officers who were rewarded for their stellar performance in 2022.

Shivbaran encouraged the ranks to stay committed and focused in the execution of their duties.

Meanwhile, Officers in the region were also encouraged to take up train-

ing being offered by the Zara Computer Centre in Essequibo so that they could equip themselves to operate in a modern Guyana Police Force.

They were also told to take advantage of the opportunities such as free courses being made available at the University of Guyana.

Wednesday’s award ceremony saw ranks being recognised for their work in the areas of proper investigations, drug busts, recovery of firearms and other illegal items, controlling and regulating traffic, and gen-

All services will soon be available in hinterland regions – Reg 7 Commander

Regional Commander for Region Seven (Cuyuni- Mazaruni), Dion Moore on Tuesday said that the Force was heading in a direction that would ensure that all services were available to residents in the hinterland areas, and his region would not be an exception.

The Commander said that currently some services were only accessible at the Regional Headquarters, and the Guyana Police Force has begun decentralising to accommodate those in the hinterland areas.

He said even with some challenges faced, the Police ranks in the region were unique and strong, and he was proud of all of them. In this light, the Commander said this year, the region saw an overall reduction in serious crimes by 12.8 per cent when compared to last year's figures.

The region also recorded reductions in robbery under arms, robbery with violence, break and enter and larceny, and rape.

In 2021, the region recorded four murders, a 60 per cent

decrease. For robbery with violence, there was one incident last year, an 80 per cent decrease. However, regarding break and enter and larceny, five instances were recorded in 2021, compared to three in 2020, which represents an increase of 66 per cent.

In August, Police Commissioner (ag) Clifton Hicken revived the Hinterland Intelligence Committee (HIC) during a meeting with the President

of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) Andron Alphonso at Eve Leary, Georgetown.

Given the geographic layout of the hinterland regions and the many challenges it poses, this intervention by the Top COP and his team was not only timely but necessary to guarantee safer communities by bolstering their security infrastructure through a partnership approach among the key stakeholders.

However, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the HIC was unable to meet for over two years. As such, the GGDMA said it saw the Committee as being extremely important for intelligence sharing and crime-fighting in the hinterland.

Last year, the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara (Region Three) Regional Democratic Council (RDC) established a Regional Intelligence Committee (RIC) aimed at identifying problems and providing solutions aimed at enhancing residents’ lives. (G9)

“I'm so proud of myself... I didn't expect I would have become the Best Cop of Region Two. I am committed and dedicated to my work and will continue to

work hard to serve and protect my people,” Markus said.

Benjemin, who was previously named Best Cop, related he would strive to secure the top spot again next year.

“I am very proud of myself, but for the past years [of work]. I always am the

best cop... But come next year, I will do better and I know I will gain my position again.” he said

During the simple programme, the officers and other attendees were entertained by melodious renditions from talented Police Constable Arvin Singh and Sergeant Benjamin.

Carol Joseph slapped with 14 fraud charges by SOCU

People’s National Congress (PNC) activist Carol SmithJoseph of Lot 99 Main Street, Hopetown, West Coast Berbice (WCB), was on Wednesday charged by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) with 14 indictable charges of Fraudulent Appropriation of Property of Body Corporate committed on the Mahaica Abary Rice Development Scheme (MARDS).

She appeared at the Mahaicony Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Marissa Mittleholzer and the charges were read to her.

However, she was not required to plead and was granted bail in the sum of $10,000 per charge, for a total sum of $140,000. She was represented by Attorneysat-Law Nigel Hughes and Roysdale Forde.

The cases were adjourned to January 11, 2023 for statements and June 7, 2023 for Preliminary Inquiry to commence.

During the month of March 2022, a report was made to SOCU by the MARDS Rice Milling Complex Limited, a private company registered under the Companies Act, Chapter 89:01, concerning fraudulent appropriation of funds of that company by Joseph, who was a Director of that company at the time.

As a result of that report, SOCU commenced investigations. During the course of the investigations, it was revealed that Joseph was appointed as a Director of MARDS between the period July 2015 and June 2018 by the then Minister of State of Guyana.

SOCU said Joseph, as a Director on the Board, without authority, solely approved 14 transactions amounting to G$6,121,108 without the Board’s knowledge and approval between June 2016 and August 2016.

The Board makes all the policy decisions of MARDS and the duty to execute the Board’s decisions belongs to the MARDS General Manager.

Whenever payments have to be made to any suppliers or if MARDS has to do any financial transaction, approval must be given by the Board. Based on the Board’s decisions to pay, the General Manager would cause the payment to be processed by his staff and two authorised signatories of MARDS must sign a cheque of payment so that it can be encashed at Republic Bank, where MARDS has a bank account.

The amounts were allegedly used for SmithJoseph’s personal benefit and other purposes other than MARDS’s business. These activities were in no way associated with MARDS Rice Milling Complex.

In October 2020, SmithJoseph appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts for several charges in relation to electoral fraud following the March 2, 2020 elections.

She was arraigned on one count of forgery and two counts of conspiracy to defraud at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and was placed on $30,000 bail for each charge.

Smith-Joseph was charged jointly with embattled former Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo for forgery. She was released on $30,000 bail for each charge.

Regional Commander for Region Seven, Dion Moore

Region Two Best Cop Shamar Markus receiving his prizes

Region Two Commander, Superintendent Khemraj Shivbaran

People’s National Congress (PNC) activist Carol SmithJoseph

Appeal Court quashes death sentences imposed on 3 ex-GDF Coast Guards

…resentences each to life imprisonment

The Court of Appeal (CoA) of Guyana on Wednesday quashed the death sentences imposed on three former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard ranks who were found guilty in 2013 of murdering a civilian by throwing him overboard after robbing him of $17M in cash.

Sherwyn Harte, Devon Gordon, and Deon Greenidge have now each been sentenced to life imprisonment.

In 2013, these three defendants were each sentenced to death by Justice Franklyn Holder for the 2009 murder of Bartica gold miner Dwieve Kant Ramdass, who was robbed at Caiman Hole in the Essequibo River before being tossed overboard.

Following their trial, the trio had filed an appeal against their conviction and death sentence, arguing that the penalty was unconstitutional; and while quashing the capital punishment imposed on them over nine years ago, the CoA unanimously held that although anyone convicted of murder under the old Criminal Law (Offences) Act was liable to the mandatory death sentence, the imposition of the death penalty had not been appropriate in this case, since amendments to the Act had taken a modern approach to sentencing.

As the law which was amended in 2010 stands, a Judge now has the discretion to impose the death sentence, imprisonment for life, or such other term he/ she considers appropriate.

The Appeal Court Bench of acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud has unanimously agreed that the three convicted killers are entitled to the discretion in sentencing provided for by the new Act. The Judges found that the convicts’ appeal against their convictions had no

merit, and therefore dismissed it. However, their appeal against the death sentences was allowed, with the appellate court substituting those sentences with life sentences. Harte must serve 25 years before he is eligible for parole, while his two co-convicts have to each spend 18 years before being eligible for parole.

According to the evidence, Harte was the mastermind behind the robbery/murder.

The trio was represented by T&T Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes and Attorneys-at-law Nigel

Senior Counsel Mendes had always maintained that on the day the former GDF ranks were sentenced, the power to impose the death sentence was discretionary, and not fixed by Section 100 of the old Criminal Law (Offences) Act. He had said the law at the time had given the trial Judge the discretion to impose the death or life sentences.

“The provision that we [rely on] is the one that says that when one is found guilty of murder, the court may impose the sentence of death or life imprisonment. That was the law that applied when the [trio] was

lates the core principles in respect to dignity,” Mendes had said as he argued that the death sentence is arbitrary and discriminatory.

“The system of the law in Guyana is one that is prone to produce arbitrariness in the criminal arena…,” he had added.

According to him, all of these principles are core principles of a sovereign democratic State. He had pointed out that to the extent where the capital punishment violates these principles, it also violates Article 1, which states that Guyana is a sovereign democratic State.

“If a law is in violation of the rule of law, then it can be struck down,” he had contended.

arbitrarily?”

Urging the Court of Appeal to outlaw the death penalty, the Senior Counsel had told the panel of Judges, “If you do so, all persons on Death Row will be beneficiaries. Their sentences, those that have survived appeals, will have

Manifestation of the will of the people

Meanwhile, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, had intervened in the criminal matter, which he had noted raised novel and important constitutional issues which go to the core of Guyana’s constitutional ethos, and addresses the vexed question of the legality of the death penalty.

Hughes and Latchmie Rahamat. These lawyers argued that the capital punishment is unconstitutional because it is arbitrary, irrational, disproportionate, and contrary to the principles of the rule of law.

The State was represented by lawyers from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Attorney General’s Chambers. These had presented arguments to the contrary.

Strike down

The trio, in their appeal, had also asked the Court of Appeal to strike down the death penalty as being unconstitutional. And with the Court of Appeal ruling on Wednesday that it has jurisdiction to hear a challenge to the constitutionality of the death sentence, it will more than likely hear arguments on the substantive issue in the new year.

found guilty of murder,” he had told the CoA at a June 17, 2021 hearing.

The Senior Counsel had reasoned that the death sentence is not lawful because it violates the Constitution of Guyana. He had averred that the capital punishment contravened the fundamental rights provisions of the Constitution, among them being Articles 40, 141, 149.

Under Article 40 (1), Mendes had noted, citizens are provided with a freestanding right to life and human dignity, which prohibits the imposition of the death penalty, and which is separately enforceable and outwits the scope of the general savings clause at Article 152.

“The death sentence violates the rule of law, which is the core constitutional principle… It violates the right to equality and protection of the law. It vio-

To amplify this argument, Mendes had relied on the pronouncements of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)— Guyana’s apex court - in the case of Quincy McEwan et al vs the Attorney General of Guyana. He had reminded that the CCJ, in that case, had struck down Guyana’s colonial-era cross-dressing law that had been contained under Section 153(1) (xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act, having found that it violated the rule of law and its provision were vaguely worded.

Cross-dressing was formally removed as a criminal offence in August of last year, almost three years after the CCJ rendered its decision.

Mendes and Hughes had argued that the “execution of the death penalty following a lengthy de-facto moratorium would be contrary to Guyana’s binding international law obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

Although Guyana has not carried out any execution since 1997, the courts continue to impose the death sentence. Given that several years have elapsed since the execution of the death sentence, Mendes had questioned: “Then how will it be reinstituted, if not

to be vacated…” In that regard, he had said that the court would then have to impose an alternative sentence. According to him, this case was the first time in the Commonwealth Caribbean that the constitutionality of the death sentence was being raised because of pronouncements made by the CCJ on the rule of law.

Mendes had reasoned that there was nothing “unlawful” or “unusual” about the Appeal Court hearing the case, as he relied on the provisions of the Court of Appeal Act.

In June 2021, The Death Penalty Project – a Londonbased Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) which has, for over three decades, been providing free legal representation to those facing the death penalty – reported that it facilitated the submission of expert reports from leading academics for this case before the Guyana Appeal Court. They include Carolyn Hoyle, Professor of Criminology at the University of Oxford; Williams Schabas, Professor of Law at Middlesex University, and

According to the Attorney General, the nature of the appeal made it a public interest matter, because it is a challenge to the constitutionality of the death penalty for its complete removal from the laws of Guyana, which is a matter of high constitutional law.

“The court has both a power and a duty to modify relevant legislation to ensure it is rendered consistent with fundamental rights and principles of the Constitution,” he had advanced.

In response to the lawyers’ contention that the death penalty was unconstitutional, the Attorney General had, among other things, said that its retention as part of Guyana’s sentencing regime is a manifestation of the will of the Guyanese people exercising their sovereignty.

“The death penalty is neither inconsistent with Guyana’s municipal law nor its international law obligations…the death penalty has been engrained in Guyana’s constitutional framework from time immemorial, and has been deliberately retained,” the Senior Counsel had advanced.

This, he had pointed out, is evidenced by its survival despite numerous constitutional and legislative amendments. “The retention of the death penalty as part of Guyana’s sentencing regime is a manifestation of the will of the Guyanese people exercising their sovereignty,” he had said.

Jeffery Fagan, Professor of Law at Columbia University.

Murder convicts Devon Gordon (left) and Deon Greenidge

From L-R: Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, and Justices of Appeal Rishi Persaud and Dawn Gregory

Murder convict Sherwyn Harte

Murdered: Dwieve Kant Ramdass

Regional

Deputy UN chief urges countries to send armed force to Haiti

Deputy United Nations chief Amina Mohammed on Wednesday urged countries to urgently consider Haiti's request for an international specialised armed force to help restore security in the Caribbean State and alleviate a humanitarian crisis.

"Now is certainly not the time for the world to turn away from Haiti," she told the UN Security Council. "It is time to step up and turn the current crisis into an opportunity for Haiti to bounce back stronger."

Haitian gangs have expanded their territory since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. The resulting violence has left much of the country off-limits to Government

and led to routine gun battles with Police.

In September, Haitian gangs created a humanitarian crisis by blocking a fuel terminal for nearly six

weeks, halting most economic activity.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in October proposed that one or several countries send

"a rapid action force" to help Haiti's Police remove a threat posed by armed gangs. He was not suggesting that the force be deployed by the United Nations.

So far though, no country has offered to lead such a force, though The Bahamas has said it could send troops or Police if asked to do so. Diplomats have also said some African countries were ready to offer support as well.

US Deputy UN Ambassador Robert Wood told the Security Council that Washington continues "to advocate for international security support, including a non-UN multinational force, as requested by the Haitian Government". (Excerpt from Reuters)

Peru crisis: Family of ousted leader leaves as new President reshuffles Cabinet

The family of Peru's ousted President Pedro Castillo has left Peru for Mexico after the latter offered them asylum.

Castillo remains in detention in Peru.

Peru's Foreign Minister had earlier granted Castillo's wife and children safe passage from the Mexican embassy in Lima to the airport.

The Mexican Ambassador to Lima also departed on board the same plane after Peru had ordered him to leave the country within 72 hours.

Peru's Foreign Ministry said in its social media accounts that it was expelling Ambassador Pablo Monroy because "of the repeated statements by that country's highest authorities about the political situation in Peru".

Castillo declared a state of emergency and announced he was dissolving Congress.

The head of Peru's constitutional court said move constituted an "attempted coup" and Congress quickly deposed him.

He was replaced by his Vice President, Dina Boluarte, who has called for elections to be brought forward by two years to April 2024.

Meanwhile, Boluarte promoted the country's defence chief to the Prime Minister's job as part of a shuffle of her 11-day-old Cabinet on Wednesday, a move that followed protests this month that have left roughly two dozen people dead.

Venezuelan Opposition parties are seeking to remove Juan Guaidó as head of Citgo, the country's most important asset abroad, and block his interim government from extending its mandate by another year, spokespeople from the country's main opposition parties said on Wednesday.

Guaidó has controlled the Houston-based fuel refiner, a subsidiary of state oil firm PVDSA, since 2019 when he declared himself acting president following a disputed election.

While Washington still recognises Guaidó as interim leader instead of socialist President Nicolas Maduro, Guaidó's failure to reach a deal with Maduro's Administration on new elections and his reliance on US sanctions to keep pressure on Maduro have seen him fall out of favour elsewhere in the world and with opposition groups at home.

Guaidó has called for a

special session of Venezuela's Congress to take place today in order to extend the mandate of his interim government by another year, largely to maintain control over Citgo and other State assets held abroad.

But Opposition political parties propose instead to replace Guaidó with a commission of five Parliamentappointed members to govern Citgo's assets, and block the one-year extension.

The proposal put forward is for dissolution of the interim government, save for the ad hoc board of PDVSA Holding – which manages Citgo –- as well as the ad hoc board of the central bank, while a commission to watch over other assets would also be created, said Opposition politician Alfonso Marquina.

Parties looking to replace Guaidó have proposed delegating the functions of the interim government to the new commission. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Across-section of Mexican Journalists, columnists and cultural commentators demanded in an open letter on Wednesday that President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stop harassing critical media, arguing he fans the flames of violence with his rhetoric.

The letter, signed by nearly 200 prominent Mexicans, was published in newspapers and shared widely on social media, a week after a well-known Journalist was ambushed

by motorcycle-mounted gunmen who shot at his armoured vehicle.

Television and radio host Ciro Gomez Leyva survived the December 15 hit attempt, and since then controversy over the leftist Lopez Obrador's attacks on media critical of his government has grown.

The open letter accused Lopez Obrador of being "politically responsible" for the attack on Gomez, adding that "practically all the expressions of hate against Journalists, are born, incu-

Oil

tank in Colombia's Barranquilla explodes into flames, one dead

Tension between the two countries has been growing since Peru's Congress impeached Castillo on December 7.

A vast majority of Peruvian lawmakers voted in favour of his impeachment immediately after

Alberto Otarola, a lawyer who had been the Andean nation's Defence Minister, was named Prime Minister, and four others entered the Cabinet. Alex Contreras and Oscar Vera were kept as the Ministers of the Economy and Energy and Mines, respectively.

(Excerpts from BBC News and Reuters)

Jamaica establishes fund for crime tips

Afuel tank exploded into flames in Colombia's Caribbean city of Barranquilla early on

bated and spread" from the president's office.

Lopez Obrador immediately condemned the attack, but then quickly pivoted to attacking elite Journalists he dismissed as conservative pundits, including Gomez.

During a regular news conference on Wednesday, the President repeated his pledge to investigate the assassination attempt, denied he has polarised the country, and argued most media figures oppose the political "transformation" he seeks.

(Reuters)

Wednesday, killing a firefighter who fell during the explosion, local authorities said.

The firefighter was identified as Javier Solano, 53, by Colombia's President Gustavo Petro in a message on Twitter, in which he pledged to support the city's Mayor, Jaime Pumarejo.

"Right now the fire is being controlled and allowed to burn out at the tank, which is on fire," Pumarejo told Journalists, adding that the area around the tank was being evacuated.

Operations to control the fire could take between three and four days as firefighters wait for the blaze to consume all the fuel, authorities said.

Operations at Barranquilla's port were suspended until the fire is fully controlled, authorities added.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness

Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Monday announced a J$50 million fund to pay people who provide information about criminal activities.

He said the security forces have been getting that criminal gangs have been organising to take advantage of the large amount of cash and goods circulating during the Christmas season.

Holness said while law enforcement officials were working to arrest this type of activity, the public’s assistance would be useful and rewards would be made available.

“Our intelligence is picking it up and we are moving in on them; slowly, but surely, we are getting them. But we think that the process could be assisted greatly if the people in the country would share in -

telligence with the police… and sometimes there needs to be a little reward — and we’ve been doing that with guns,” he noted during the handing-over ceremony of two houses under the New Social Housing Programme in Seville Heights, St Ann.

“Where we are now, having picked up this intelligence — and we are seeking to act pre-emptively to save lives — we are putting up a fund of $50 million and, depending on the quality of information you give, you could get a nice Christmas reward. We want to get people who are involved in contract killings, people who are planning to hijack stocks and goods in-transit and people who are planning to rob supermarkets during the Christmas season and other business establishments,” he said.

(Excerpt from CMC)

United Nations Deputy Secretary General Amina J Mohammed speaks at the United Nations General Assembly celebration of Nelson Mandela International Day at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, US, July 18, 2022 (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz

Black smoke rises during a fire in a hydrocarbon storage area of the Bravo Petroleum company in Barranquilla, Colombia December 21, 2022. Barranquilla City Hall Press Office/Handout via REUTERS

Venezuela Opposition seeks Guaidó ousting, control of Citgo

Mexican Journalists, cultural commentators demand president end provocations

Oil prices rise over US$2 on drawdown in America’s crude stocks

Oil prices rose by more than US$2 a barrel on Wednesday after data showed a larger-than-expected draw in US crude stockpiles, but gains were capped by a snowstorm that is expected to hit US travel.

Brent crude futures for February delivery were up by US$2.21, or 2.76 per cent, at US$82.20 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained US$2.06, or 2.7 per cent, to US$78.29.

US crude inventories fell by 5.89 million barrels, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), compared with estimates for a drop of 1.66 million barrels. Data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday showed a 3.1-million barrel draw in the week to December 16, market sources said.

"This report is very bullish, especially with the fact that there's a draw from the crude oil equation and distillate inventories stopped their streak of builds ahead of the cold blast," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures group.

Distillate inventories fell by 242,000 barrels, according to EIA data, compared with analyst estimates for a build of 336,000 barrels.

Markets also awaited clarity on when the Keystone pipeline, a major artery ferrying Canadian crude to the United States, would restart after TC Energy said it had removed the ruptured segment of the pipeline that caused an oil spill earlier this month and sent it for metallurgical testing as directed by US regulators.

Prices were also boosted by hopes that China would relax some COVID-19 curbs after no new COVID-19 deaths were reported.

China's crude oil imports from Russia in November rose 17% year on year as Chinese refiners rushed to secure more cargoes ahead of a price cap imposed by the Group of Seven nations and an EU embargo from Dec. 5.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister said on Tuesday that the heavily-criticised move by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) to cut oil output turned out to be the right decision. The comments suggest that OPEC+ may continue to keep supply tight, said CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng.

Potentially curtailing oil demand, huge parts of the United States are forecast to face heavy snow that is likely to cause flight delays and impassable roads during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

Overall, Russian oil exports fell by 11 per cent month on month for December 1-20 after the European Union's embargo on Russian oil came into force, the Kommersant daily reported. (Excerpt from Reuters)

8 teenage girls charged with deadly stabbing

Eight teenage girls have been charged with murder in the Saturday night stabbing of a 59-year-old man in downtown Toronto, authorities said.

Police said the girls, aged between 13 and 16, seem to have met online before meeting in person on the night of the attack, possibly for the first time.

They were arrested near the crime scene shortly after midnight on Sunday.

The man, who has not been named, had been living in a shelter for the homeless at the time of the assault.

"He does have a very supportive family in the area so I wouldn't necessarily call him homeless, maybe just recently on some hard luck,"

Toronto Police Detective Sergeant Terry Browne

Officer Browne said the girls are believed to have assaulted and stabbed the victim in Toronto's downtown core, an area filled with high-end condominium towers and hotels, following an altercation. Police believe the man may have been preyed upon because he was spotted carrying alcohol.

A group of bystanders flagged down emergency services after finding the man with stab wounds, Browne said. The man was rushed to a nearby hospital with serious injuries and died shortly after. Police recovered several weapons, but did not say exactly which type. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Around the World

Alongside Zelenskiy, Biden urges solidarity on Ukraine to continue in 2023

US President Joe Biden stood with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House on Wednesday during the Ukrainian leader's first wartime visit to urge Americans and the world to keep backing Kyiv in 2023, when congressional approval for aid will be harder.

The United States has sent about US$50 billion in assistance to Kyiv as Europe's biggest land conflict since World War Two drags on, killing tens of thousands of people, driving millions from their homes and reducing cities to ruins.

But some Republicans, who will take control of the House of Representatives on January 3, have expressed concerns about the price

tag, and European countries have suffered due to energy problems and the hit to the global economy. "As we head into the New

Russia not to blame for conflict – Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes Russia is not to blame for the war in Ukraine, adding both countries are "sharing a tragedy".

During a televised address with senior military officials, the Russian President said he continued to see Ukraine as a "brotherly nation".

In February, President Putin sent up to 200,000 troops into Ukraine sparking a war which has led to thousands of deaths.

He claimed the conflict was "the result of the policy of third countries".

The theory, which implies Western expansion is the cause, has been repeatedly dismissed outside Russia.

During his address President Putin claimed the West had "brainwashed" post-Soviet republics, starting with Ukraine.

He said: "For years, we tried to build good-neighbourly relations with Ukraine, of-

fering loans and cheap energy, but it did not work."

President Putin's longstanding concerns appear to stem from NATO's growth since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

NATO's original goal was to challenge Russian expansion after World War Two, but the Kremlin has long argued NATO's acceptance of former Soviet allies as members threatens its security.

Tensions between the Kremlin and the West increased after the overthrow of pro-Kremlin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014, following months of street protests.

In his address President Putin continued: "There's nothing to accuse us of. We've always seen Ukrainians as a brotherly people and I still think so.

"What's happening now is a tragedy, but it's not our fault." (Excerpt from BBC News)

Year, it's important for the American people, and for the world, to hear directly from you Mr President about Ukraine's fight and the need

to continue to stand together through 2023," said Biden at a news conference.

Neither NATO nor the European Union have been more united than about Ukraine, he added.

"The United States will stand up for our shared values, the values of freedom," said Zelenskiy, wearing his trademark olive green pants and sweater.

"I believe that despite any changes in the composition of Congress, bicameral and bipartisan support will be maintained."

Zelenskiy, who will seek more support during the trip, is due to address a joint session of the US Senate and House of Representatives and meet Democratic and Republican leaders there. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Cina could be struggling to keep a tally of COVID-19 infections as the country experiences a big spike in cases, a senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official has said, amid concerns about a lack of data from the country.

Official figures from China have become an unreliable guide as less testing is being done across the country following the recent easing of the strict “zero-COVID” policy.

Trump paid no income tax in 2020, reported losses in office

Donald Trump paid no income tax during the final full year of his presidency as he reported a loss from his sprawling business interests, according to tax figures released by a congressional panel.

The records, released late on Tuesday by the Democratic-led House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee after a years-long fight, show that Trump's income, and his tax liability, fluctuated dramatically during his four years in the White House.

The records cut against the Republican ex-president's long-cultivated image as a successful businessman as he mounts another bid for the White House.

Trump and his wife, Melania, paid some form of tax during all four years, the documents showed, but were able to minimise their income taxes in several years as income from Trump's businesses was more than offset by deductions and losses.

The committee questioned the legitimacy of

some of those deductions, including one for $916 million, and members said on Tuesday the tax returns were short on details. The panel is expected to release redacted versions of his full returns in coming days.

Trump refused to make his tax returns public during his two presidential bids and his campaign for office, even though all other major-party presidential candidates have done so for decades.

The committee obtained the records after a yearslong fight and voted on Tuesday to make them public.

A Trump spokesman said the release of the documents was politically motivated. (Excerpt from Reuters)

“In China, what’s been reported is relatively low numbers of cases in ICUs, but anecdotally ICUs are filling up,” WHO’s emergencies director Mike Ryan said on Wednesday.

“I wouldn’t like to say that China is actively not telling us what’s going on. I think they’re behind the curve.”

WHO Head, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said he was “very concerned” about the situation in China.

“WHO is very concerned over the evolving situation in China,” Tedros told a weekly news conference, appealing for detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions and intensive care requirements.

The WHO said it was ready to work with China to improve the way the country collects data around critical factors such as hospitalisation and death.

China uses a narrow definition of COVID deaths and reported no new fatalities for Tuesday, even crossing one off of its overall tally since the pandemic began, now at 5241 – a fraction of the tolls of many much less populous countries.

The WHO would encourage work to import vaccines, but also to find arrangements where vaccines can be produced in as many places as possible, Ryan said.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, US, December 21, 2022 (Reuters/ Leah Millis)

told reporters.

WHO chief “very concerned” over COVID situation in China

Beds are seen in a fever clinic that was set up in a sports area as coronavirus disease outbreaks continue in Beijing [Thomas Peter/Reuters]

Donald Trump

DAILY HOROSCOPES

Consider what others want, but don’t deny yourself something for the sake of someone else. Be careful how you handle professional situations set in a party atmosphere.

(March 21-April 19)

(April 20-May 20)

Don’t complain; adjust what isn’t working for you and move forward. Take control of situations that concern you. Leave nothing to chance, and you’ll be happy with the results.

Look at what others do before jumping into something that isn’t a good fit for you. Pour your energy into fulfilling your dreams and making decisions that benefit the people you love.

(May 21-June 20)

(June 21-July 22) (July 23-Aug. 22)

Emotional issues will surface if you aren’t honest about your feelings or wants. Speak up, find out where you stand and press forward. Romance is encouraged.

Take care of time-sensitive documents. Reach out to people who make you laugh and arrange to spend downtime rehashing what’s transpired this year. Don’t get involved in joint ventures.

You have good ideas, but if you let others interfere with your plans, you won’t be happy with the results. Pay attention to details and set things up to your specifications. Romance is featured.

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

Keep busy and enjoy the festivities. Steer clear of stressful situations or people who tend to bring you down or stand between you and the happiness you deserve. Make your dreams come true.

Put thought and movement behind your plans. Don’t hesitate to bring about changes that will make your life easier. Think outside the box, and you’ll discover something quite valuable.

(Oct. 24-Nov. 22) (Nov. 23-Dec. 21)

Pick up the pace. You’ve got plenty to finish before the year ends. Take care of unresolved matters that have held you back or situations not conducive to achieving your dreams.

Don’t overdo it or make promises you can’t keep. Take time to show others how you feel instead of offering elaborate gifts. More time spent with loved ones will encourage better relationships.

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

Refuse to let someone’s indecisiveness cloud your mind or disrupt your plans. Time is running out, and taking care of last-minute preparations will help alleviate stress.

Emotional confusion is apparent if you or someone close to you sends mixed messages. Be transparent regarding your intentions. A romantic gesture must come from the heart.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

ARCHIE PEANUTS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

DILBERT

Russia's Natalya Antyukh stripped of gold won at London 2012 Olympics

Russia's Natalya Antyukh has been stripped of the 400m hurdles gold she won in the London 2012 Olympics. This has been done on the basis of historical data obtained from a Moscow testing laboratory.

Now 41, Antyukh is already serving a four-year ban after being named in a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) investigation into cheating by Russia. American Lashinda Demus will be promoted to gold in place of Antyukh.

All three gold medals won on the track by Russian athletes at the London 2012 Olympics have now been rescinded on doping grounds. Mariya Savinova and Yuliya Zaripova, the initial winners of 800m and 3000m steeplechase gold, have been disqualified.

Ivan Ukhov's high jump title and Tatyana Lysenko's hammer victory in the field have also been wiped from the record books.

The McLaren Report,

commissioned by WADA and published in 2016, claimed that more than 1,000 Russian athletes across various sporting disciplines had been involved in a state-sponsored programme of systematic doping. It added that London 2012 was "corrupted on an unprecedented scale".

Brett Clothier, Head of the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) which disqualified Antyukh, said it was committed to "clean and fair competition and results, even if a decade later".

"The AIU remains committed to investigating all cases of potential violations and securing the appropriate outcomes," added Clothier.

"The integrity of the sport of athletics is our utmost priority, and we are pleased, in this instance, that athletes who competed fairly at the highest level will ultimately be acknowledged as the rightful medal winners."

Antyukh has struck a defiant tone on social media. Her last Instagram post on 18 August is a photo of her showing off her silver and bronze medals from the 2004 Olympics. Those medals remain unaffected by the latest AIU decision.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) can now promote Jamaica's Kaliese Spencer to the bronze medal position, after Antyukh did not appeal against her punishment, and Czech Republic's Zuzjana Hejnova is in line for an upgrade to silver. (BBC Sport)

West Indies to face Zimbabwe in two Tests in Bulawayo

The West Indies Men’s team will start their 2023 international year with two Test matches against Zimbabwe, both of which would be played at the Queen’s Sports Club in Bulawayo.

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) confirmed the schedule on Wednesday, December 21.

The first Test is slated for 4-8 February, and the second for 12-16 February. Ahead of the two-Test rubber, West Indies would have a four-day warm-up match against a local side, set for 28-31 January at Bulawayo Athletics Club.

All matches start at 10am local time (4am Eastern Caribbean/3am Jamaica).

Jimmy Adams, CWI Director of Cricket, has said: “The tour to Zimbabwe early in 2023 will be an important part of our 2023 Test programme, which also includes series against South Africa and India. Having produced some good results early in 2022, the team will be eager to begin the year with strong performances in Zimbabwe.”

Zimbabwe’s last Test match was played back in July 2021 against Bangladesh in Harare, and according to ZC Director of Cricket, Hamilton Masakadza, Zimbabwe would be eager to make the most of the upcoming series.

“We are pleased to confirm the West Indies will be visiting us for two Test matches that will be played in Bulawayo,” Masakadza has said. “Although it’s been a while since we last played Test cricket, our boys will be hungry and ready for some red-ball action, and I believe an exciting series against one of the game’s top sides is on the cards.”

The last Test series between Zimbabwe and the West Indies was also played at Queen’s Sports Club in October 2017. West Indies had clinched that two-match series by winning the first game by 117 runs, while the second match had ended in a draw.

MATCH SCHEDULE

28-31 January: four-day warm-up match at Bulawayo Athletics Club

4-8 February: 1st Test at Queen’s Sports Club, Bulawayo

12-16 February: 2nd Test at Queen’s Sports Club, Bulawayo.

Robert Sarver's tenure at Phoenix Suns to end

…as Mat Ishbia agrees to $4B acquisition

Billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia has agreed to the record $4billion purchase of the Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury from owner Robert Sarver.

Ishbia and Sarver announced the deal, which ends the latter’s tumultuous tenure as owner, in respective statements on Tuesday. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the staggering figure, pointing to the deal being expected to be finalised in the near future.

Sarver had announced in September that would sell both franchises, having been fined by the NBA the maximum $10million with a one-year suspension following an independent investigation that found he “engaged in conduct that clearly violated common workplace standards”.

The deal, that will see Ishbia buy the majority stake of both franchises, exceeds the previous NBA record of $2.35billion when Joe Tsai bought the Brooklyn Nets in 2019.

United Wholesale Mortgage president and CEO Ishbia has been pursuing ownership of NBA and NFL teams in recent times.

“I am extremely excited to be the next governor of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury,” Ishbia said in a statement. “Both teams have an incredibly dynamic fan base and I have loved experiencing the energy of the Valley over the last few months.”

Sarver’s tenure at the Suns dated back to 2004, with Ishbia’s acquisition including all of his interest along with a portion of minority partners.

“Mat is the right leader to build on franchise legacies of winning and community support and shepherd the Suns and Mercury into the next era,” Sarver said in his statement. (Sportsmax)

Man City-Liverpool rivalry must be ‘respectful’

Liverpool’s assistant manager Pep Lijnders has said a rivalry with Manchester City must remain respectful as they prepare to meet in the Carabao Cup.

The Reds travel to Etihad Stadium in Thursday's fourth round in their first competitive game since the World Cup. Recent meetings between the Premier League sides have witnessed unsavoury incidents from both sets of fans.

"We need emotion from the stands, and we need to feel these games matter," said Lijnders. "The only problem with emotion is when there's no respect. Then it becomes really hard."

City boss Pep Guardiola has said coins had been thrown at him during October's Premier League game at Anfield.

Guardiola apologised after Manchester City fans chanted about the Hillsborough and Heysel football stadium tragedies during the game, despite not hearing them himself.

It is the first competitive fixture for each team after English football's break for the World Cup. Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk and France centre-back Ibrahima Konate are not expected to feature for the Reds, though their frontline is set to include Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, who were not at the World Cup.

City's squad is also impacted, with the Blues having had 16 players away in Qatar, which was the most of any side. Rodri, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji have been back train-

ing only for a couple of days, while those involved with England and Portugal will return next week.

Guardiola, however, thinks those who were at the tournament may have an advantage.

"I have a feeling that the players in the World Cup are in a better condition than the players who were here," he said. "Sergio [Gomez], Erling [Haaland], Riyad [Mahrez], Cole [Palmer], they missed a little bit. Tomorrow is important for players not at the World Cup to regain the rhythm."

Robert Sarver

Pep Lijnders is urging fans to show respect during Thursday's game between Liverpool and Man City

Antyukh is the latest in a string of Russian athletes to have their London 2012 medals taken back by authorities

The West Indies Men’s Test team will face Zimbabwe in rivalry that commences in January, 2023

-as they prepare to meet in the Carabao Cup

Monetary rewards well received after Terrence Ali National Open Championships

The Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) has gained the reputation of being a trendsetter in the Caribbean, since it is the first such body within the region to start rewarding boxers with cash for their exploits in major competitions.

The Terrence Ali National Open Championships ignited the National Gymnasium from Friday to Sunday last, and witnessed almost 40 boxers from 13 elite categories walking away with cash prizes.

Reflecting on the tournament, GBA Boss Steve Ninvalle explained that it has been a great start to the initiative, but the GBA would be looking to improve in future. “My thoughts regarding the competition are that it’s historic, it’s significant. Also, it’s the first time that any country in the Caribbean would be financially rewarding the amateur boxers.

“And Guyana has always been in the vanguard, we’ve always been in the front, we’ve always led as it relates to amateur boxing within Caricom,” Ninvalle said in an invited comment.

In regard to bettering those renumeration pack-

ages in future, he declared: “We’re glad to continue that trend by initiating and organizing these financial rewards. It will not end here; those rewards will increase and will improve with time. This is our first time, your first step is never your best step, but it gets you started.”

The GBA President further explained that not only was the move well received in Guyana, but it made such an impact that other Caribbean territories are looking to follow suit.

“So, this is something that I applaud, this is something that has been applauded by each and every boxer and each and every coach; there is no one in the boxing fraternity who have frowned

on what was done,” he disclosed.

“I do think that it will continue, and that it will transcend across the Caribbean. People are now -- as a matter of fact, Trinidad has already said next year this is the way they’re going. And just like we’ve started with our School Boys and Juniors tournament, this encompasses the entire Caribbean. We’ve now started the financial rewards,” the GBA Boss later revealed.

The Terrence Ali National Championships were held from Friday, December 16 to Sunday, December 18; and when the curtains came down on Sunday last, Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF)

Bowman grateful for YBG success

By TimoThy Jaikarran

Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) successfully completed its annual Titan Bowl XI and Tertiary Knockout basketball tournaments last weekend, and according to YBG Cofounder Chris Bowman, the entity is extremely pleased with the success the tournaments have received.

Bowman was asked in an invited comment to state his views on how the tournaments went, and he said, "We are very happy with how the tournament went; it's a great way to end the year. As I stated, two tournaments playing side by side is unique, and we are happy that we were able to pull it off and be very happy with the success of the finals.

“The finals went to extra time, and one team won by one point. It shows that at the youth level and the school level and tertiary level, the competition is even

and quite competitive."

Bowman explained that for the Titan Bowl and Tertiary competitions, any team could have won this

"We look forward to next year's programme, and we have no doubt that school and youth basketball will continue to improve. Of course, we could not do this without the support of our main partners, ExxonMobil and the National Sports Commission, who in the end allowed the tournament to be played despite the facility being renovated," Bowman shared.

The winner of the Titan Bowl XI was the Government Technical Institute (GTI), while winner of the Tertiary Knockout was the University of Guyana. The Government Technical Institute had a thrilling encounter with an Aroaima team in the Titan Bowl XI, but managed to defeat that team 76-68.

One Guyana President’s Cup… Region 3 whip Region 2; Region 7 edge Region 9

Region 3 (Essequibo Islands- West Demerara) have furthered their quest to top their group in the ongoing One Guyana President’s Cup tournament with an 11-0 drubbing of Region 2 (PomeroonSupenaam) on Tuesday afternoon.

Tuesday’s triple-header at the National Track and Field Center (NTFC) at Leonora, West Coast Demerara also saw Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice) being held to a nil- all draw by Region 1 (Barima- Waini), and Region 7 (CuyuniMazaruni) edging Region 9 (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) 1-0.

The President’s Cup action began at 3pm with neighbourly rivalry between Regions 3 and 2. It took the Region 3 outfit only 12 minutes to find their groove, before Leo Orion Lovell pierced the nets for their first goal. Lovell forged ahead in his expert marksmanship, and by the 31st minute of the game, had already completed his hat trick.

Delon Lanferman added another to the Region 3’s growing tally in the 19th minute, while their fifth came off the boots of Chris Macey in the 41st, for a 5-0 score at half time.

Lanferman returned at the resumption of the half to complete his brace in the 48th, and Lovell sealed his helmet trick in the 52nd with another scintillating goal.

other drawn result; this time against Region 1. Region 1, who are yet to claim any point in the Regional Championships, looked impressive on Tuesday evening as they held off the Region 10 onslaught for the drawn (0-0) result.

Region 9 came in for a surprise defeat in the following game against Region 7. Region 9, who were flawless in the competition up until Tuesday’s game, found it difficult to get past Region 7’s defenses, and at other times had many shots going awry.

Region 7’s most foolproof opportunity came in the first half when they were awarded a free kick several yards outside the box. Taking the reins of the set piece was Andrew Simmons, who chipped the ball in to the corner of the nets for the goal.

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year, as was proven by the results in both games. He deemed that good for basketball in general.

Bowman has also clarified that whether it be school teams from Berbice, Linden, Kwakwani, Aroaima, or based in Georgetown or on the East Coast, the youth players are improving, and the gap is very close in terms of competitiveness.

In the other final, University of Guyana and New Amsterdam were neckand-neck in terms of points. Both teams gave it their all, but UG managed to hold their nerve and take the win 61-60.

This tournament was sponsored by ExxonMobil Tertiary Knockout, Titan Bowl XI, Trophy Stall, and the NSC.

However, Region 3’s scoring did not stop with those few players. Colwyn Adams added another two goals to the scoresheet in the 63rd and 80th minutes, while Trayon Bobb struck in the 73rd and Malcom Miggins in the 77th to bring the score to a whopping 11-0.

The 11-0 drubbing is the second highest win-margin witnessed in the One Guyana President’s Cup thus far, after Region 4 had mauled Region 8 by 16-0 earlier in the week.

Region 10’s chances of qualifying for the semifinals of the President’s Cup took a hard blow as a result of an-

Simmons’s 21st minute strike eventually became the game winner, after Region 9 could find no reply.

The One Guyana President’s Cup will continue today, Thursday, December 22nd, at the Albion Sports Complex Ground in East Berbice. The double-header would see Region 3 and Region 5, out of Group B, locking horns from 18:00hrs. Then, at 20:30hrs, Region 8 and Region 6 will meet for their clash.

The tournament’s sponsors include the Government of Guyana (GoG), KFC Guyana, GTT, New GPC Inc, Caribbean Airlines, Banks

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and Vergenoegen Boxing Gym (VBG) walked away with prizes, but it was the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) that was adjudged ‘best gym’.

GBA President, Steve Ninvalle

UG was the winner of the Tertiary Knockout competition

GTI was the winner of the Titan Bowl XI

The jubilant GDF boxers celebrating their ‘best gym’ title at the conclusion of the Terrence Ali National Open (Sean Devers Photo)

DIH, Digicel, E-Net, BACIF, JAPARTS, MVP Sports, Ansa McAl, Slingerz Family, JS Engineering Services and Supplies, Guyana Beverages Inc, Hardware Depot, Rudisa Motor Company, Marics and Company Ltd and Puran Brothers Inc.

The victorious Region 7 team

New husband and father Keemo Paul reflects on 2022

Guyana and West Indies all-rounder

Keemo Paul, who finished the 2022 Regional FourDay Championships as the leading fast-bowler with 20 wickets in nine innings, has transitioned to becoming a husband and father in the year 2022. He also made a return to the West Indies team after being absent for almost two years.

In an exclusive interview with this daily publication, Paul reflected on the 2022 season, spoke about his injury, and looked ahead to 2023, where being a stable all-rounder in the West Indies team is on his radar.

Fatherhood and Christmas plans

Paul got married in August 2022, and in October 2022, the birth of his first child left him speechless with joy. The 24-year-old Essequibian now describes 2022 as “awesome”.

"The joy is immense! I must give God thanks and

"About the injury, in the CPL against Barbados I sprained my left ankle, the

enjoying being on the park. I think that goes a long way. When you enjoy what you do, it becomes so much easier (that) it takes the stress of it away."

Paul has shown his ability to play the power game, but his focus is to add a touch of class to his armory.

new T20 league, but he is also aiming to be a stable all-rounder when he returns to the West Indies team.

Sharing his sentiments on playing T20 leagues, Paul said: "Playing in different franchises and different leagues helps a lot. You get to understand different conditions, and you get to test yourself and ability. It is also tough being away from family, but the exposure is good; everything comes with chal-

lenges" The Essequibian, who played his last match for West Indies in August 2022 against India in Florida, is focused on putting his foot forward at present cricket matches, but he wants to make an impact on his West Indies return.

"Currently I am focused on the present. Whatever cricket I am playing, I want to do my best and take it step by step. Whenever I am selected

for the West Indies, I will try my best to perform, but I am staying in the present at the moment. I do look forward to playing for the West Indies and making an impact, that is something I really want to do, to contribute and be a stable all-rounder in the West Indies team," Paul noted.

Paul, who will celebrate his 25th birthday on February 21, has played three Tests for West Indies, 23 ODIs and 23 T20Is.

Coley appointed Windies Interim Head Coach for tours of Zimbabwe & South Africa

Andre Coley has been named Interim Head Coach of the West Indies Men’s Team for the upcoming tour of southern Africa.

praise. This year has been awesome for me. I have been blessed with a child (and) I am happily married. It is great, I really can't complain. It is an overwhelming feeling, I really cannot put it in words, but I feel very privileged," Paul said.

The right-handed all-rounder who participated in the Abu Dhabi T10 League and is currently in the Lankan Premier League should return home on Christmas evening. He noted that he would be spending time with his family, and would be donating hampers to the less fortunate.

"I should get home Christmas evening, so I look forward to spend time with my family. I have been away for a month now, so I missed my family a lot. I missed my newborn a lot, so I just look forward to spend quality time with him and my immediate family," he said.

"Christmas will be pretty simple. Me and my wife will be planning to do some hampers to give to less fortunate. Hopefully, we can bring some smiles to people, and that will mean the world to me this Christmas," Paul said.

Paul's ankle injury

Paul has shown that he has a lion’s heart. He bowled long spells in the Regional Four-Day, fought through the senior inter-county to bowl at a shortened run-up to claim eight wickets in two matches; and he played a CPL match purely as a batsman.

deltoid ligament in my left ankle. That took some time, as you know. The physio of Guyana Amazon Warriors, Jason Pilgrim, sent a programme and I had some work to do, and then Neil Barry Jr. helped me out.

“That was a very delicate area, that is where the pressure goes when you bowl.

"I worked hard on my batting (since I was not bowling too much), it came out really good. I took the time to do some extra work on my batting, and that has been paying off thus far. I am pleased, but I want to keep moving forward with my batting, and I am very confident. I want to keep working on my defence, rotation of strike, and playing spin as good as possible. That is my aim. I can strike the ball already, so now I try to work on my touch game," Paul said.

This patriotic resident of Saxacalli was filled with excitement at the inter-county, and he noted that the senior inter-county brought back a lot of memories.

"Playing inter-county was

Following a meeting of the Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) Board of Directors on Monday 19 December, CWI announced that Coley would oversee the two-Test tour of Zimbabwe from 28 January to 16 February, as well as the multi-format tour of South Africa, which includes two Tests, three One-Day Internationals (ODIs), and three T20 Internationals (T20Is) from 21 February to 28 March.

Coley said: “To be asked to oversee the West Indies team on the upcoming tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa is a special honour. West Indies Cricket holds a special place in my heart. The upcoming assignment will be challenging, as we will come up against two teams in their home conditions. We will need to ensure that our planning and preparation are appropriate, and demonstrate consistency in the execution of these plans to give ourselves the best opportunity to achieve positive results.”

He added: “The players, I’m sure, are enthusiastic about the opportunities that both series should offer, and are eager to contribute to our team’s success. I look forward to the tours ahead, and the opportunity to make a tangible and meaningful contribution to the growth of West Indies Cricket.”

Jimmy Adams, CWI Director of Cricket, said: “We welcome Andre back to the West Indies dressing room, and with his wealth

of knowledge of the game, player-management skills, dedication, and hard work as well as attention to detail, we know he is well equipped. He is a highly experienced coach, who has functioned at every level within the CWI High-Performance Pathway. This has prepared him for the job at hand, and we expect he will again approach this new role with the same vigour and zeal which have characterised his time in the CWI coaching system, and has earned the respect of players and everyone who he has interacted with.”

Coley, a former Jamaica wicket-keeper/batter, is currently Head Coach of the CWI Academy programme. While Andre Coley fulfils the interim role, CWI’s High-Performance Manager Graeme West will oversee the West Indies Academy programme, supported by the Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams, to ensure there are no disruptions to the Academy programme during the period.

Coley previously served

TOUR SCHEDULES

West Indies in Zimbabwe

as the Assistant Academy Head Coach and Interim Academy Head Coach when the Sagicor Academy was launched in 2010. He was also Head Coach of the West Indies U19 Team; Assistant Coach of the West Indies Men’s and Women’s Teams, as well as Head Coach of Jamaica Scorpions and Windward Islands Volcanoes, who were the 2018 Super50 Cup Champions.

In 2016, Coley was Assistant Coach of the West Indies Men’s Team which won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, and earlier this year, he was Assistant Coach of Jamaica Tallawahs when they captured the Caribbean Premier League title.

CWI also confirmed that the contracts of Assistant Coaches Roddy Estwick and Monty Desai had ended.

Adams said: “I’d like to thank Roddy and Monty for their hard work and dedication in supporting the team over the last few years, and wish them the very best in the future.”

28 to 31 January: four-day warm-up at Bulawayo Athletics Sports Club

Even now, I still take precaution and strap my ankle and stuff. Other than that, my body is in excellent shape," Paul explained.

First-Class and inter-county Paul said playing FirstClass cricket was a joy for him, and he was focused on enjoying his game.

"The Regional First-class season, what worked for me was finding back the joy in cricket. Just enjoying cricket,

great this year. I was excited. The ankle was not 100%, but I had to go out there and represent. To see the guys won the first game, it made me really excited to go out and play. It was a joy for me. I played inter-county pretty young, and I remembered the joy when I scored my first 50," Paul added.

Plans for 2023

The all-rounder is expected to play in South Africa's

4 to 8 February: 1st Test at Queen’s Sports Club

12 to 16 February: 2nd Test at Queen’s Sports Club

West Indies in South Africa

21 to 24 February: vs South Africa Invitational XI at Willowmoore Park, Benoni

28 February to 4 March: 1st Test at SuperSport Park, Centurion

8-12 March: 2nd Test at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

16 March: 1st ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)

18 March: 2nd ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)

21 March: 3rd ODI at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom

25 March: 1st T20Is at SuperSport Park, Centurion

26 March: 2nd T20I at SuperSport Park, Centurion

28 March: 3rd T20I at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg (night)

New Interim Head Coach for West Indies Men’s team, Andre Coley

Keemo Paul with his family

Flashback: Keemo Paul and his beautiful wife Shanece

Keemo Paul launches in the 2022 CPL