Guyana Times - Thursday November 25, 2021

“Truly a dream come true” – Guyanese cops Rhodes scholarship Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4842

P12

THE BEACON OF TRUTH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021

President Ali meets with Regions 2, 5 rice millers to discuss financial woes See story on page 3

EPA reviewing insurance coverage for existing oil & gas projects Banks DIH 5 homeless signs off on after child sets new salary fire to pillow package for employees

PRICE

$80 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

300% increase in sexual P16 violence cases in Region 2

Wife killer P8 appeals life sentence

See story on page 15

Page 10

WCB man jailed for life for butchering P11 couple

…as Govt to wrap up enforcement of Private Sector minimum wage

Page 9

Volda Lawrence to decline nomination for PNCR Leader – James Bond See story on page 7

16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence

“We have so many girls, so many females, who are hurting and they cover these scars” – Rev Monsell Alves Page 13

$70M worth of ganja unearthed at Victoria P8

Christmas Day murder

Kitty man gets 18-year jail sentence P11

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

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

Thursday, November 25 – 09:30h-11:00h and Friday, November 26 – 10:00h-11:30h and 23:00h-00:30h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Thursday, November 25 – 08:00h-09:30h and Friday, November 26 – 09:10h-10:40h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY Sunny conditions are expected until mid-afternoon when light rain showers should prevail into the evening followed by partly cloudy skies. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North North-Easterly to North-Westerly between 1.78 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 07:57h and 20:11h reaching a maximum height of 2.22 metres and 2.29 metres.

Low Tide: 13:42h reaching a minimum height of 1.04 metres.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2021

LOTTERY NUMBERS E

08 11 17

19 21 23

FREE TICKET

10 Bonus Ball

DAILY MILLIONS

05 07 11 14 18 LUCKY 3

7

4

2

9

Afternoon Draw

0

3

Evening Draw

DRAW DE LINE

04 06 07 09 10 14 20 SUPER

PAY DAY

PAY DAY

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2021

07 09 14 16 17 13

08 14 15 16 21

1

0 Afternoon Draw

FP Afternoon Draw

0

7 Evening Draw

FP Evening Draw

DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Change %

Crude Oil

$82.54/barrel

+0.35

Rough Rice

$260.424/ton

+0.37

London Sugar

$518.40/ton

+2.05

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1792.20

$1793.20

Low/High Change

$1777.70 +3.10

$1797.40 +0.17%

President Ali meets with Regions 2, 5 rice millers to discuss financial woes

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resident Dr Irfaan Ali on Wednesday met with five rice millers from across the country to discuss financial challenges as well as other issues currently plaguing the industry.

The meeting was held at State House and saw millers from Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) and Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) being engaged by the Head of State.

According to a brief statement on President Ali’s social media page, they discussed issues that the millers are “currently facing in the rice industry”.

Also accompanying the President during Wednesday’s meeting was Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha.

The Minister told Guyana Times after the meeting that these millers were having difficulties in fulfilling their financial obligations to banks, so they sought the Government’s intervention.

“We will be meeting with the rice millers to deal with the issues. Issues about payment matters – payments to rice farmers and other issues… They had some concerns with their bank loans and so on,” the Agriculture Minister disclosed.

President Ali has since delegated Mustapha as well as the Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, and Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, to examine the concerns of the millers and have them resolved.

“We will be meeting with the banks and then we will meet with the [millers] back… So, we will be dealing with all the issues they raised with the President over the next few days,” Minister Mustapha related.

President Dr Irfaan Ali meeting with rice millers on Wednesday

The Ministers were expected to update the President with a solution sometime in the near future.

President Ali has been promoting Guyana’s agricultural potential at the regional and global levels, and has even described food production and agriculture as the country’s sustainable future.

In light of this, Agriculture Minister Mustapha last week met with rice farmers in Region Two after they had protested the high fertiliser prices in the region.

The farmers had complained that owing to the cost of the fertilisers, they were finding it hard to move forward with cultivation and called on the Government to intervene in the matter.

As a result, Minister Mustapha contacted one of the main suppliers in the region and was able to influence him to lower the cost by 10 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.

“When I heard about the cost of the fertiliser, immediately, I engaged the supplier. With our intervention, the supplier agreed to bring down the cost of the fertiliser. The urea was reduced from $9500 to $8500 per bag and the TSP from $10,000

to $8200 per bag, and we are going beyond that. Last week, the President announced that we are in discussion with our bilateral partners to see how we can collaborate to address these cost increases. This may be burdensome, but this is a global issue and we need farmers to recognise that,” he had said.

Further, the Agriculture Minister explained that owing to a global shortage of natural gas, many industries were affected which has resulted in increases for many commodities across the world.

“We have to look at the reasons for the increase in prices. We are seeing an increase in the cost of natural gas, which is a critical component when producing fertilisers. Globally, the cost of fertilisers has increased tremendously. In some parts of the US, the costs have doubled and tripled. Even in China, a powerhouse producer, many industries were closed because of the pandemic which resulted in a shortage of natural gas.

That is why it is important for us to build that pipeline so that we can be in a position to produce our own natural gas,” Mustapha stated.

During a media briefing

two weeks ago, President Ali had revealed that at the international level, his government did not intend to sit down and wait for the situation to correct itself.

Referencing the rising cost of fertilisers, the President said that over the past four weeks, discussions were held with many bilateral partners to remedy this.

According to the Head of State, the increase in the cost of production and logistics has driven prices up across the world.

“We are doing this so that the farmers, the sugar industry, the rice producers – they can all benefit. Because if we don’t bring down the cost, we know too that the cost of rice will increase,” Dr Ali said.

President Ali had said too that the current circumstances were threatened by the forecast that existing shortages and price increases would continue well into 2022.

The Head of State posited that an assessment of what was happening in major economies like China showed that they were experiencing the fastest growth in increased prices since the 1990s. In the United States of America, the consumer prices index for October showed prices rose 6.2 per cent over the last 12 months.

According to President Ali, it is the highest in the last three decades.

After receiving insight into the root cause of the increases, farmers expressed their satisfaction with the Government’s efforts to bring down the cost of fertilisers so far and said that they looked forward to more interventions that could result in further reductions.

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guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021

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

16 Days of Activism against GBV

Save our women

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t is always heart-breaking to read in the media that one of our women was killed simply because of her decision to end a relationship and move on with her life. This year, so far, numerous women have lost their lives in brutal domestic violence clashes. As we observe 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, two incidents which occurred earlier this year are stark remainders of the magnitude of this issue in Guyana. Within a matter of days, earlier in the year, the nation was greeted with shocking details of two women – 20-year-old Shonette Dover and 44-year-old Nicola Sueanna Wilson – who were each killed in a most brutal way at the hands of their partners. In the case of Dover, her life was snuffed out without the decency of a proper burial, but rather her body was discarded in a shallow grave in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) and left to rot.

These two cases are just a few of the long list of women who have been murdered over the years, most times during domestic disputes. Over the years, there were countless stories reported in the media of some form of gender-based violence, with women especially being at the receiving end of the beatings; and in some cases, even ending up dead.

The victims’ stories have been heartbreaking, as many of them were killed after years of abuse, and perhaps with very little help from those who should have provided the much-needed support mechanisms.

In many of these cases, children have been witnesses to brutality meted out against their parent. In the case of Wilson, her 14-year-old son rushed to her aid, but was helpless after he, too, was threatened with death. There was a similar situation with another boy who went to the aid of his mother in Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) as she was being stabbed by his father. In that case, the child pushed his father aside while telling his mother, who was covered in blood, to run for her life. The magnitude of the impact of this on that child, and other children who witness these incidents, cannot be underestimated. Those ghastly images, especially when life was snuffed out, are not only lasting, but profoundly traumatising. When young minds are so broadsided, the impact, if not managed, lingers for life. Not that it is erasable, but with meaningful and sustained interventions, the trauma can potentially be mitigated, thereby aiding to better shape lives. The entire spectrum of what therefore constitutes counselling then becomes vital.

The bottom line is that something must be done urgently to arrest the situation, as it is clear that what currently obtains has not been very effective. While protection orders have been effective to an extent, quite often the abusers do not abide by them; hence the need to undertake an urgent review of mechanisms currently in place to protect women from being killed.

Violence against women and children has tremendous costs to communities, and can remain with women and children for a lifetime. If not dealt with effectively, it can also pass from one generation to another. Numerous recommendations were made to the previous and current Administrations, yet nothing much has been forthcoming.

Over the years, the United Nations has been pushing countries towards implementing proactive measures to combat domestic violence. These measures have included criminalising gender-based violence, hosting massive public awareness campaigns, and providing training to equip both men and women to act as first responders and to support victims of the scourge at the community level.

Additionally, this newspaper had stated before that one of the greatest challenges Guyana faced in countering domestic violence was in changing the attitudes of the Police, Magistrates, social workers, and health-care providers.

Importantly, too, is that the lackadaisical attitude of neighbours, relatives, and community leaders who are in most cases aware of domestic abuse cases but yet choose to remain silent also needs to change. Everyone needs to be proactive in their response to the scourge.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Wednesday received a courtesy call from Swami Brahmrishi Narayan. He was joined by Pandit Rabindranauth Persaud and Bhaskar Sharma (Office of the Vice President photo)

COP26 was a flop, but there is still hope

By CJ Polychroniou

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he outcome of international climate summits has barely changed during the last few decades. The task of forging a global consensus on transformative mitigation strategies to the climate emergency somehow always eludes the participating parties, and the result is to keep kicking the can down the road as if to say, “Let future generations take care of the problem.”

Unfortunately, despite being touted as “our last best hope”, the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow ended up being just another big flop, thus confirming that people should not expect international climate summits or Governments to solve the climate crisis.

Indeed, the only hope for solving humanity’s greatest existential crisis lies with our ability to mobilise behind the global climate movement.

The outcome of COP26 – a great “compromise” between moderates and reactionaries – does very little to slow down our pace towards the precipice. The final document, called the Glasgow Climate Pact, showed no progress with regards to existing national plans to cut emissions by 2030, which are not enough to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In fact, as things stand, the planet is headed to a disastrous 2.4 Celsius of heating. Only very naive souls can gain comfort from the fact that the pact obliges countries to return to next year’s COP with revised targets.

Fossil fuels, which supplied 84 per cent of global

energy in 2020, will continue to dominate global energy consumption. The power of the fossil fuel producers and the influence of the fossil fuel lobby is apparently too strong to counter in diplomatic negotiations over the future of the planet. Moreover, rich countries have failed to honour their pledge to provide US$100 billion each year by 2020 to help poor nations deal with the threats of global warming, and the climate debt grows exponentially.

In other words, largescale decarbonisation remains a distant dream despite the pressing need to embark on this process immediately to keep temperatures from rising well above 2C, and COP26 contributed not in the least in the effort to move the world economy towards a clean-energy transition. Amazingly enough, even coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels and the single largest source of global temperature increases, received a mere slap on the hand as India, with the backing of China, succeeded in changing the wording of an earlier draft from “phase out” coal to “phase down”.

If COP26 participants were really serious about solving the climate crisis they should have made, at a minimum, the following pledges: 1. Eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies, which according to a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) study amount to US$5.9 trillion in 2020; 2. Ban banks from funding new fossil fuel projects, as they have pumped trillions of dollars into oil, gas, and coal since the signing of the Paris climate agreement

of 2021; 3. Make ecocide an international crime similar to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes; 4. Demand the cancellation of debt for lower-income countries, which now spend several times more on servicing debt than dealing with the challenges of global warming; 5. Create large-scale funding sources to assist with the transition to a green economy.

Instead, we got mostly a lot of “blah, blah, blah” and more inertia.

But why the persistent failure among Governments in putting the world on a sustainable climate pathway?

First, leaders sit on climate negotiating tables with the intent to advance an agenda that serves above all their own national interests rather than the health of our planet. Their mindset is still guided by the principles of “political realism” and political short-termism.

This is why their words are not matching up with their actions.

Thus, Joe Biden can make a moral pronouncement to world leaders at COP26 in Glasgow that the US will lead the fight against the climate crisis “by example”, but, less than two weeks later, his Administration auctions oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico.

Second, the nation-state remains the primary actor in world affairs, so there are no international enforcement mechanisms with regard to pledges about cutting emissions. International cooperation, let alone solidarity, is extremely difficult to attain under the existing po-

litical order, and as leading international affairs scholar Richard Falk has argued, “Only a transnational ethos of human solidarity based on the genuine search for winwin solutions at home and transnationally can respond effectively to the magnitude and diversity of growing climate change challenges.”

Third, “the logic of capitalism” guides the world economy. With profit-maximisation as the ultimate motive, capitalism is toxic for the environment, especially in its neoliberal version, with a strong emphasis on deregulation and privatisation. Under such a socioeconomic system, it is highly unlikely that the political establishment will dare to embark on a climate action course that might prove detrimental to powerful economic interests.

But, alas, it is not all so difficult or hopeless as the international climate summits make it seem. Climate activism is now a global movement. Youth worldwide has taken to the streets to protest inaction on the climate threat.

We have made some progress in the fight against global warming.

Cities worldwide are at the forefront of climate action, thanks to grassroots activism. More than 60 per cent of European cities have already committed themselves to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, with 12 of them before 2040. Some 30 large cities in Latin America and the Caribbean have developed climate programmes.

In Asia and the Pacific, more than 100 climate projects have been initiated to combat global warming. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021

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You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Delay in Govt’s construction projects impacts economic activities Dear Editor, President Dr Irfaan Ali charged contractors to expedite their work, but to ensure that quality is maintained as Guyana continues to go through a revolutionary period of growth and development. There should be no more pussyfooting on Government contracts and projects that would compromise standards.

The President make clear that timely completion of projects is a major issue that is important for both the Government and contractors to address. He established the need for an assessment of every contractor and project executed at the end of the year, and said a demerit system would be developed.

The demerit system is that the net value of outstanding work would be transferred to the new year, and would become your net value of work in progress, which would disallow contractors from having new contracts, or a certain level of new contracts. It would be a part of the bidding document supplied by the agency.

The reinforcement of the performance-based award system, in addition to the price and technical qualification system that is currently in place, would play a significant role in the future.

Our Government has already committed to building a modern Guyana, with world-class infrastructure that improves

connectivity and unlocks the vast potential of the economy. Contractors are seen as key contributors to this vision, so their ability to “think outside of the box” will be critical, going forward.

The construction industry plays an important role in our country’s economic development. Besides establishing the infrastructure required for socioeconomic development, it is a major contributor to overall economic growth. One can determine the role played by the construction industry and the Private Sector in generating wealth and improving the quality of life for Guyanese through the translation of Government’s socio-economic policies into social

and economic infrastructure and buildings.

As Guyana moves from developing country status towards a developed and industrialised nation, as envisaged in the People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government’s Vision 2020, our construction industry and contractors would need to respond to the changes in construction demand. Any attempt to formulate strategies for fulfilling future demand would require a reliable understanding of the past and present scenario of the industry fundamentally.

The performance and prospects of the economy have implications for the industry, and construction industry development should be considered in the con-

text of our country’s economic development.

As the President said, “I want you to understand what is going to take place in this country, and why it is so important that we pull our socks up, and why is it so important that we have this conversation,” There is always room for growth, and contractors must learn to take constructive criticism, and he underscored that a contractor who is bidding for and being awarded large projects that fall over $100M should not be bidding for small regional projects.

Contracting companies and contractors doing business with our Government must comply with a litany of complex laws and reg-

ulations that affect their day-to-day business operations.

Poor performance, substandard work and delay in the timely completion of projects must not be tolerated.

Delay in Government construction projects, especially the road sector, has had a significant impact on economic activities in the country. Several uncompleted road construction projects have littered the length and breadth of some regions because of contractors’ default. Our Government will hold those contractors responsible for those defaults.

Sincerely, David Adams

CH&PA should visit township of Corriverton The time is now

Dear Editor, Please permit me a space in your newspaper so I could publicly plead with the Ministry of Housing & Water, and more particularly with officials from the Central Housing and Planning Authority, to visit the township of Corriverton to address many of our housing and water needs.

Editor, it’s no doubt that

many of the towns, and more particularly Georgetown, was graced with many of these “Dream Realized” outreaches. Why not us? Are the young professionals of Corriverton not entitled to “young professional” homes in Corriverton?

Why isn’t there, to date, an urban-rural policy like obtains in New Zealand, which enshrined policies to help rural people get out of the impover-

ishment that usually plagues rural life, and allow them to unlock the potential of urban life?

Editor, what many in urban life take for granted is often considered a fortune for us.

Editor, almost all the towns in Guyana have a Housing office, except I believe Rose Hall Town and Corriverton. Editor, please let me be frank, in that I am in no way pointing a fin-

ger at the Ministers, I know they both have transformed the lives of many. However, I think it’s time the people of Corriverton get their lives transformed.

I look forward to attending this forum to help address my housing needs soon.

Regards, Bhanmattie Shewprashad, B.Sc., M.Sc.

to walk the talk

Dear Editor, Talk! Talk! Talk! and all talk! The call for contractors involved in construction projects to up their game has been ongoing for too long. The time for talk is over. Errant contractors found in breach of contract and other infrac-

tions should be sanctioned and penalised, in keeping with contract terms and conditions.

The time is now to walk the talk.

Sincerely, Shamshun Mohamed

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021

Page

Foundation ◄

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Subtracting mixed numbers with unlike denominators o subtract mixed numbers, first subtract the whole numbers, then subtract the fractions.

Example: Subtract 12 3/4 - 7 5/8 Step 1: Subtract the whole numbers: 12 - 7 = 5 Step 2: Change the fractions with unlike denominators to fractions with a common denominator.

The lowest common multiple of 8 and 4 is 8.

In this case, 4 x 2 = 8. The best common multiple is the higher number.

Step 3: Subtract the fractions Step 4: Add your two differences: 5 + = 5

Exercises: Subtract

1) 3 1/2-1 8/9

4) 4 3/2 - 4 2/6

2) 13 14/51 - 6 4/6

5) 7 3/11 - 3 8/10

3) 20 4/5- 7 2/4

6) 5 6/7 - 2 3/4

Materials: 3 white flowers 3 bottles of food colouring in assorted colours 3 clear 16 oz plastic cups Water Scissors Instructions: Fill each cup with water half way.

plant’s petals.

When it brings the dyed water up, it ends up dying the plant’s petals. The xylem is one of two transport systems in plants (the phloem is the other) and it is what allows the plant to get water from the roots all the way to the petals.

Extra experiments: What happens if you try 5 drops of food colouring instead of 3 drops?

Keep a picAdd 3 drops of food colouring to each of the cups. Each cup should ture log of your flower. Take a picbe a different colour.

Carefully cut the end of each ture each day, and see how many days does flower’s stem.

Place each stem in a different it take for your flower’s petals to look the coloured water cup.

Wait one hour and observe most saturated in colour. your flowers’ petals.

Try using Wait one day and observe your other types flowers’ petals. of flowers.

Do they work How it works: The xylem of the flower works as well? Why like an elevator and brings the do you think suggestwater from the cup all the way up we the plant’s ed using white stem and flowers? (scieninto the ceisfun.org)

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Volda Lawrence to decline nomination for PNCR Leader – James Bond V

olda Lawrence, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Chairperson widely considered as a front-runner for the position of Party Leader, will be declining her nomination to contest as leader at the party’s congress next month.

Lawrence, a former Minister of Public Health, was one of seven candidates who were nominated for Leader of the PNCR last week. While efforts to contact Lawrence were futile, this publication was able to make contact with former PNCR Parliamentarian James Bond, who made the confirmation.

According to Bond, Lawrence would in fact not be accepting the nomination, but would rather be sitting out the race. Bond emphasised, however, that she still has the party at heart, and will continue to serve the party.

“She’s not contesting…

Ms Lawrence has never been a person who made the Leader of the party an ambition of hers. I think all she wanted to do was serve her party, and she’s still serving her party in whatever capacity she can, just that this time she decided to sit out the race. But she still has her party at heart, and will continue to serve the party,” Bond explained.

Meeting with Executive

Meanwhile, former Attorney General Basil Williams SC., who was also

PNCR Chairperson Volda Lawrence

nominated for Leader, has said he would not confirm or deny whether he would be accepting the nomination. However, Williams did confirm that he was meeting with the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the party, where the issue was being discussed.

“I’m in CEC meeting now. They’re actually talking about the issue.

They have to write and notify that I’m a candidate,” Williams, who formerly served as Chairman of the PNCR, explained.

Other nominees include former Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge and former Region 10 Chairman Sharma Solomon.

Incumbent Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon, Aubrey Norton and Dr. Richard Van WestCharles were also nominated.

The party’s 21st

Biennial Delegates Congress is scheduled for December 11, 2021 over the course of one day. In Stage 1 of the congress, elections will be held for the Leader, Chairman, Vice Chairpersons and Treasurer. In the second stage, there will be an election for the members of the Central Executive Committee.

The PNCR – the leading party in the A Partnership for National Unity faction of the APNU/AFC coalition Opposition – has been embroiled in an internal divisive power struggle since the party’s loss at the 2020 General and Regional Elections. Hence, there was mounting pressure for congress to be held to elect new leadership.

Harmon’s candida-

223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon

cy is supported by several Members of Parliament and party members who attended his campaign launch, which was streamed live on the PNCR Facebook page.

Those include Coretta McDonald, Roysdale Forde, Ganesh Mahipaul and Annette Ferguson – all Parliamentarians.

Aubrey Norton

Dr. Richard Van West-Charles

Meanwhile, Dr Van West-Charles has been endorsed by several PNCR members, including prominent leaders in Linden, including Solomon and former PNC Parliamentarian Vanessa Kissoon.

Greenidge, a longstanding member of the PNCR, who once served as Finance Minister under

former President Forbes Burnham, served from 2015 to 2019 as Foreign Affairs Minister in the administration of David Granger whom he previously challenged for the leadership of the party. He is currently employed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an advisor on borders. (G3)

8 NEWS

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

$70M worth of ganja unearthed at Victoria

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team of officers from the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), acting on intelligence received, conducted a narcotics-eradication operation at Victoria Village Backdam, East Coast Demerara on Tuesday, and unearthed some 500kgs of marijuana.

Reports are that the CANU officers discovered on a one-acre plot of land a camp that had a total of 5000 cannabis plants ranging in height from three feet to five feet, along with fifteen 100lb salt bags containing processed cannabis equivalent to 500kgs. A quantity of male and female clothing was also found at the camp.

However, no one was arrested during the operation.

“The said cannabis plants along with the said salt bags of cannabis were eradicated.

The street value of the above

The ganja that was found by CANU officers

mentioned 500kg is seventy million dollars,” CANU said in a statement released to the media.

Investigations are ongoing.

Only a week ago, Police conducted a drug eradication exercise in which they

discovered and destroyed more than $2 billion worth of cannabis sativa at Maria Henrietta village in the Berbice River. More than 500,000 cannabis plants ranging in height from one foot to 8 feet; 2000 pounds of dried cannabis, 100 pounds

of cannabis seeds, and four nurseries were destroyed in that exercise.

It was reported that the operation was conducted by ranks of Regional Division 10 on 40 acres of land at the said location.

Upon arrival of the Police at the location, two males were seen attending the plants, but as they spotted the Police, they ran into the thick vegetation, where they subsequently boarded an engine boat and made good their escape.

Further checks conducted in the area led to the discovery of six camps suspected to be living quarters.

Empty 12-gauge shotgun cartridges were found in one of the camps.

The cannabis plants and camps were set on fire. The estimated street value of that cannabis find is over $2 billion. (G9)

Wife killer appeals life sentence

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axi driver Gavin Gill of Whim, Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), who pleaded guilty to viciously chopping and stabbing his 21-year-old wife to death and was sentenced to life imprisonment earlier this month, has now moved to have the jail term overturned.

At the Court of Appeal, the 33-year-old Gavin Gill is arguing that the sentence is too severe.

A father of three, Gill was sentenced by Justice Sandil Kissoon at the Berbice High Court after he pleaded guilty to murdering his wife Omwattie Gill on March 30, 2019 at Tulsie Street, Williamsburg Village, Corentyne, Berbice.

Apart from arguing that the sentence is too severe, Gill - who must serve 30 years before becoming eligible for parole - is contending that Justice Kissoon considered irrelevant factors, failed to consider mitigating factors, and/or did not give such factors the appropriate consideration when imposing the sentence.

According to Gill, Justice Kissoon also failed to properly exercise his discretion in not giving him a one-third deduction for his early guilty plea, and did not properly apply the deduction of time spent on remand to him, as is required by case law.

On the day in question,

Gavin Gill and Omwattie Gill

Omwattie Gill, the young woman who had shared a child with Gavin Gill, was making her way to work when she was attacked by Gavin Gill. He first hit her with a vehicle he was driving, which pitched her about 25 feet, before he stabbed and then chopped her with a cutlass. Her neck was almost severed.

She had moved out of their matrimonial home with their then sevenmonth-old baby girl after he had become very abu-

sive. Two weeks before her death, she was living with her mother and had found employment. A post mortem examination gave her cause of death as shock and haemorrhage due to stab wounds.

At this sentencing hearing, Gavin Gill had professed his love for his wife.

“I love my wife so much. I’m sorry for what happened…” he cried. During an interview with a probation officer, he expressed regret for his actions, and sought forgiveness from his late wife’s

family. He said he was sorry that his daughter would have to live without her mother, and expressed hope that she would forgive him when she is older.

Meanwhile, a probation report revealed that the couple had been experiencing problems, and had visited the probation office in Berbice, seeking help with saving their marriage.

Omwattie Gill had complained that her husband was an alcoholic who would borrow large sums of money from friends to support his bad habit. She also reported that her husband would ask her to pawn her jewellery, including her wedding band, to assist with repaying his debts.

She said that, on many days, she and their child were left without basic needs.

The probation officer revealed that the now dead woman was constantly threatened by her husband, which had prompted her to take out a restraining order against him.

Justice Kissoon, in his sentencing remarks, had noted that the protection order was rendered meaningless by the actions and blatant disregard for the court order by Gavin Gill. The Judge described the young woman’s killing as a planned and premeditated act.

TURN TO PAGE 10

And then there were…

A

…6 for GECOM CEO nd so it was, there were originally 23 applicants for the GECOM Secretariat’s top post, and it’s now down to six.

Now, unless you were on some manned mission to Mars for the last year and a half, your Eyewitness doesn’t have to explain why all the attention to fill what should normally be just another human resources’ bureaucratic decision. But this being Guyana, human resources are the most politicised aspect of our national life – both in the private and public sectors!!

Maybe it shouldn’t be too surprising, since politics is all about WHO gets what, when, and how. And with our ethnically divided polity, it all starts with the “who” – the bailiwick of human resources!!

When President Carter had the PPP and PNC agree to a new structure for GECOM, they focused on the COMMISSION. That is, the body that sets policies and makes decisions as those relate to the holding of elections. And they came up with a process and a structure that both sides felt was satisfactory. It had the merit of demanding effective consultations on the Chair – who held the deciding vote between the equal PNC and PPP Commissioners. It was obviously felt that the Secretariat – the body that actually performs the tasks necessary for conducting elections – would be professional and just do its job. Silly them!!

We now know a certain amount of hanky-panky had to be going on. And how do we know? Well, the fact that most of the employees in a NEWLY constituted autonomous body were all of ONE ethnic group – that’s how!! And in Guyana, to know which party you support, your ethnic identity is as good a tip-off as a truth serum!! Anyhow, we limped along since 1992, but after the poop hit the fan in 2020, folks decided they couldn’t ignore the elephant in the (GECOM Secretariat) room. So, a start is being made at the top tier, but, eventually, lower staffing has to get much more granular.

The Opposition Commissioners had decided to go only with the three furriners, while the PPP went with a mixed bag. The Chair did a Solomon and combined them into a list of six. So, we wait for there to be only one. But who’ll it be?

One little Indian or one little African? Unfortunately, that’s gonna be the reaction in our dear mudland!!

…the threats Your Eyewitness knew it had to come to this the moment the 7% increase was announced for all Government workers – the threats from the TUC. GPSU President Patrick Yarde – yes, he personally had to’ve been acquainted with Methuselah, being around so long!! - had already signalled his displeasure. He told the Public Servants (an oxymoron if there ever was one!!) to just do what’s on their contract. If they follow his suggestion, we can expect a DOUBLING OF EFFICIENCY!!

Anyhow, up comes the TUC head, demanding a 14% pay hike from President Ali – which he insists from his vast knowledge of economics – is reasonable. In his letter, he “expects to hear from your office by Friday 3rd December, 2021 by 15:30 hours.” This sounds like an ultimatum to your Eyewitness. So, the President has to say something.

The President should reply that if it’s okay to reduce the Public Service to the 14,000 the PNC inherited in 2015 (from the 26,000 they left), then he can give the 14%.

…the (dead) foot soldiers One of the lessons learnt by your Eyewitness over the years is that, after the smoke clears on the battlefields, only the bodies of the foot soldiers are left.

The generals at the rear always survive.

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

NEWS

9

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Banks DIH signs off on new salary package for employees …as Govt to wrap up enforcement of Private Sector minimum wage

Chief Labour Officer Dhaneshwar Deonarine (centre), Banks DIH Human Resources Director Andrew Carto (right) and GWU’s General Secretary Pancham Singh (left) following Wednesday’s signing of the MOA

A

s the conversation on Private Sector salaries brews, local beverage giant Banks DIH Limited has settled the matter of new wages and benefits for its employees.

On Wednesday, the beverage company said it signed a new three-year Memorandum of Agreement with the General Workers Union (GWU), paving the way for new wages as well as other benefits for employees of the company.

The agreement was signed on Wednesday in the Boardroom of the Labour Ministry, and proceedings were witnessed by Chief Labour Officer Dhaneshwar Deonarine. Based on the new arrangement, employees will now receive an initial nine per cent across-theboard increase for the first year, and five and three per cent respectively during the additional two years of the three-year pact.

Andrew Carto, Human Resources Director of Banks DIH Limited, who signed on behalf of the company, expressed gratitude to the Union for the cordial and professional way in which the negotiations were conducted over a three-week period.

“I am happy to say that we were able to arrive at a consensus where we now have a new three-year agreement which highlights the increases, benefits and allowances which would be applicable to employees of the company for the next three years,” Carto expressed.

The General Workers Union was represented by General Secretary Pancham Singh, who said the Union is pleased with the agreement reached.

“The negotiations were done virtually in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and both parties showed mutual respect during the consultations. We have a very long and cordial relationship with the Company, and we

would like to maintain that affiliation,” he added.

Chief Labour Officer Dhaneshwar Deonarine has commended both parties for negotiating an amicable agreement.

This settlement comes on the heels of Government announcing last week a seven per cent retroactive increase for all Public Servants, which has sparked conversation on wage and salary increases in the Private Sector.

Minimum wage

Shortly after taking office last year, Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton disclosed that he would be issuing an order to increase the Private Sector minimum wage from $44,200 to $60,000 per month. However, while an order to this effect was made, there was no timeline for its enforcement. In fact, this was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it has had on businesses.

Minister Hamilton has, however, reassured Guyana Times that his Ministry is working closely with the various Private Sector bodies to achieve a better minimum wage for workers.

“Everybody agreed that the present minimum wage must be increased. What we have not conclusively dealt with is the timing of the order issued by the Minister to bring that into effect. So that is where we at,” he stated.

According to Minister Hamilton, only last week he asked the CLO to convene a meeting with the National Tripartite Committee to “discuss this matter and bring it to a conclusion.”

The Tripartite Committee consists of the Labour Ministry, the Private Sector and the Union.

“I have had, and I’ve been having, continuous conversation with the Private Sector. When I came here, the Private Sector raised the issue of the intervention of

COVID, and therefore that was a fundamental issue in the conversation within the Tripartite Committee. The union reps of course [were]

saying, ‘Sign the order now’ and the Private Sector is saying, ‘Give us some time to revive’ from the pandemic,” he explained.

However, the Labour Minister noted that Government has to be cognisant of both arguments that are being proffered. “The worst thing I could do, or the Government (could do), is to have the minimum wages willy-nilly increased and then a small entity that had 30 employees, they had to send home 10… So we have to be mindful, we have to be careful that that doesn’t happen,” the Minister posited.

But it has now been a year, and the country has been on the path to recovery from the pandemic, so Minister Hamilton will be re-engaging the Private Sector on enforcing these increases. That meeting of the Tripartite Committee could

Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton

be held as early as next week.

The Tripartite Committee was set up under the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) regime to review increasing the Private Sector’s minimum wage. The committee had recommended an increase to $60,000 from the current $44,200 per month.

In January 2017, the

Private Sector’s minimum wage was increased from an hourly rate of $202 to $255, taking the monthly wage from $35,000 to $44,200. The Public Sector minimum wage currently stands at $70,000.

Currently, only approximately 10 per cent of Private Sector employees are paid minimum wage, with the remaining vast majority receiving above this pay grade. (G8)

10 NEWS

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

5 homeless after child sets fire to pillow …Fire Service calls on parents to monitor children

Marlon Deon and his reputed wife Christina Nandlall standing in front of their Charles Place, New Amsterdam home, which was burnt to the ground

F

ive persons are now homeless after a fiveyear-old child allegedly set fire to a bed in their home at Charles Place, New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) on Tuesday evening.

Marlon Deon, 24, and his wife Christina Nandlall, 25, lived in the one flat, two-bedroom building at Lot 25-13 Charles Place, along with their children aged three, five and eight. Reports are

that the fire erupted at their home at approximately 20:00h, and according to Christina Nandlall, her reputed husband was not at home, and she and the children were standing on the road in front of their home, awaiting his return.

She said she had sent her five-year-old child into the home since she was trying to take away a sweet from her younger brother. However, a short while later, the child

returned and joined the rest of her family.

“A cigarette lighter was over the bed, and she take it down and light a pillow, and she come outside and was with me all the time, and I didn’t know until I look by the door then I see the fire.”

Nandlall said that when she went into the house, the fire was raging and had taken over the bed and sections of the wall. Fire, she added, was also under the bed.

“Because a sponge mattress was under the bed too.”

The woman said that with the aid of a neighbour, a bucket brigade was formed, but that was not very helpful, and the Fire Service was summoned.

“The water could not stop the fire, because the fire keep spreading, and one of our friends from the next house come and help throwing water, but the water could not do nothing because the pipe was running slow and we didn’t have enough water,” she added.

According to Deon, a labourer who uses a wooden pushcart to provide services to vendors and shoppers at the New Amsterdam Market, all of his savings were lost in the fire. In addition, his children have lost their school supplies. He explained that they were not able to save anything.

Deon noted that he and the rest of his family spent

Tuesday evening at his mother-in-law’s home in Mount Sinai, which is on the eastern fringes of the town and is a section considered a slum. However, he was unsure what would become of the family over the next few days. The couple had been living in the two-bedroom one-storey building which is owned by Deon’s grandmother for several years.

Monitor children

Divisional Fire Officer Fitzroy Sutton said two units arrived at the scene within minutes of receiving the call, and were able to use water in the tanks to control the blaze.

Sutton said that besides no one being injured, the GFS was able to prevent the fire from spreading to other buildings.

The senior Fire Officer noted that an unattended child left playing with a cig-

Wife killer appeals...

“The history of the relationship prior to this murderous act does not bode well for the accused [Gavin Gill]. This accused pawned everything within the matrimonial home to support his vile habit of alcoholism. This accused has pleaded guilty in the deliberate, passionate killing of his wife without lawful cause,” the Judge said.

Justice Kissoon had told Gavin Gill that due to his reckless and irresponsible

actions, his young child is now left without both of her parents. The Judge told the killer that, in his eyes, his wife was without any rights.

According to Justice Kissoon, this case is of concern to the court, given the overwhelming number of cases of this nature arising from intimate partner violence. Moreover, he said that Gavin Gill had shown no genuine remorse.

The Judge pointed out that he viewed Gill’s guilty

arette lighter is the cause which the Fire Service has recorded.

“I am pleading with parents to be careful at this festive season; to take care of your children; leave them with someone who can take care of them if you are working. This is the festive season, what you are working so hard for all year or ten years could go down so quickly,” Divisional Fire Officer Sutton said.

Meanwhile, the couple is pleading with the public for assistance in helping them to rebuild. They can be contacted on telephone number (592) 622-0858.

For the year, 44 houses in Berbice have been completely destroyed by fire, and twelve persons have been rendered homeless.

According to Sutton, many of those fires occurred on unoccupied buildings which owners had left unattended as they migrated. (G4) FROM PAGE 8

plea as “strategic” in light of the overwhelming evidence against him, and also made it clear that there is nothing the killer can tell him to persuade the court to have mercy on him.

As it stands, Gavin Gill must serve 30 years before he becomes eligible for parole. In the computation of his sentence, the High Court Judge ordered that the prison authorities credit him for time spent on remand. (G1)

NEWS

11

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

WCB man jailed for life for butchering couple N

azamadeen Raffick, the 25-year-old man who confessed to fatally chopping and stabbing an 81-year-old businessman and his wife at their Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice home, was on Wednesday sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime by Justice Sandil Kissoon at the High Court in Berbice.

Raffick, called “Shazim”, who was earlier this month indicted on two counts of murder, opted to plead guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter after his trial had already commenced. In this regard, Justice Kissoon stopped the trial and directed the jury to return a formal verdict of guilty on the lesser count.

Between January 8 and 9, 2016, Raffick, of Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice (WCB), murdered Arthur Rajkumar, 81, and Diane Chamanlall, 44, during the course or furtherance of a burglary.

A Police report stated that on January 9, 2016, at around 03:00h, Police ranks acting on information went to a home at Lot 93 A, Bush Lot, WCB. As the ranks approached the home, three men were seen jumping over a fence of the premises. The Police ranks gave chase, but the men managed to escape.

Upon checking the house, which was ransacked, the ranks found the couple with chop and stab wounds about their bodies. They were taken to the Fort Wellington

the home. And after they had committed the heinous act, the prosecutor added, the men went into the couple’s fridge and removed beers, which they drank while celebrating.

When asked by Justice Kissoon if he had anything to say before the court passed sentence, Raffick said, “I’m very sorry for those people’s loss…I only went deh, sir, and lash Mr Arthur one time. I ain’t kill no one…”

Butchery

Confessed killer Nazamadeen Raffick

Hospital, where Rajkumar was pronounced dead on arrival.

His wife died while receiving medical attention.

During the ordeal, their toes and fingers, among other body parts, were severed.

The elderly man was brutally chopped about his body, and his neck was almost severed; while his spouse sustained nine chop wounds, including on her hands, face and head.

Their cause of death was given as shock and haemorrhage due to multiple incise wounds.

Rajkumar and his wife operated an ice cream parlour, stationery store, and pool shop at their home.

State Prosecutor Abigail Gibbs said Raffick admitted that he and his accomplices “smoked marijuana and felt nice” before breaking into

During a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Justice Kissoon told Raffick that he and his accomplices used extreme violence to brutally kill the pensioner and his wife.

Declaring that he was not moved by Raffick’s cries for mercy or his expression of remorse, Justice Kissoon labelled those efforts as the killer’s attempt to save himself from the “gallows” if the trial had continued and he was found guilty by the jury.

“I reject that as an attempt by you to mitigate your sentence. I also accept that as a further indication from you that you are without remorse or contrition. Your attempt is to simply obtain a sentence that is consistent with a slap on the wrist, notwithstanding the gravity of your despicable act,” said the Judge to Raffick.

The Judge described the couple’s killing as “butchery”, while noting that the perpetrators attacked their heads,

Christmas Day murder

Kitty man gets 18-year jail sentence

Confessed killer Bevon Stephon Griffith

“I

would like to say sorry to Celwyn Allen and he family. It wasn’t a wilful act. If I didn’t under the influence of alcohol, it would not have occurred. I’m just begging you to be lenient with me… for a second chance to get back into society.”

Those were the words that 24-year-old Bevon Stephon Griffith, called “Kevin” and “Spoony”, uttered to Justice Jo-Ann Barlow shortly before she sentenced him to 18 years in prison for the 2017 Christmas Day unlawful killing of 35-year-old Celwyn Allen.

Initially indicted for the capital offence of murder, Griffith appeared at the High Court in Demerara earlier this month and pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter. His sentenc-

ing hearing was deferred to Wednesday.

A Police report said that Allen, of Cummings Park, E Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown, “interfered” with a friend of Griffith’s, who reportedly rebuked him for doing so. As such, Griffith confronted Allen, whom he stabbed several times with a knife before making good his escape. The injured man was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital by a Police patrol, but was pronounced dead on arrival.

A Police report said Griffith admitted to the crime at the time of his arrest. Further, it was reported that the late Allen’s girlfriend was also injured during the attack.

Recapping the facts, Justice Barlow said Griffith was consuming alcohol for most of the day when there was a misunderstanding between Allen and another person. She said that Griffith had entered into a misunderstanding that “was not his own”. In arriving at an appropriate sentence for Griffith, Justice Barlow weighed the aggravating and mitigating factors alongside the circumstances of the case.

Among the aggravating factors she noted was the use of a sharp object to inflict injuries on Allen, the fact that Griffith inflicted more than one injury, and the increasing resort to violence by per-

Dead: Celwyn Allen

sons who are under the influence.

The mitigating factors she considered included Griffith’s early guilty plea, him accepting responsibility for his actions, his youthful age at the time of the commission of the offence, and his prior unblemished criminal record.

In the end, Justice Barlow deducted one-third of the 18-year sentence because of the convict’s early guilty plea. She also deducted the time he had spent on remand awaiting trial.

The prison authorities were instructed to expose Griffith, who resided at Kitty, Georgetown and worked as a mason before his incarceration, to programmes tailored to his needs. He was represented by Attorney-at-Law Ravindra Mohabir. (G1)

Dead: Arthur Rajkumar and Diane Chamanlall

necks, and other vital parts of their bodies.

Justice Kissoon said Rajkumar was an aged person within the village, a pensioner who was operating a business for the benefit of the community. “…a village elder who has served his time, who was there selling ice cream, selling groceries and providing a service to one and all…a respected member of his community,” the Judge said.

He pointed out that the victims were robbed, mutilated, tortured, and killed in the confines of their home a place the law considers as one’s castle. Such was the bloodbath, the Judge said,

that when Raffick was arrested, his clothes were drenched in blood.

The Judge noted that this was a crime motivated by financial gain. Given the prevalence of this offence in society, and the fact that it continues unabated, Justice Kissoon said, only a life sentence would be commensurate with the savagery the young men had inflicted on the couple.

Citing case laws, the Judge held that Raffick’s age does not serve as a mitigating factor, since statistics show that crimes of this nature are predominantly carried out by youths. To this end, he told Raffick that the administration of justice and the rule of

law demand that a sufficient sentence be imposed, not only to punish him, but to deter like-minded individuals who may consider a similar course of action.

In the end, the confessed killer was sentenced to life imprisonment. He becomes eligible for parole only after serving 35 years. He was not granted the usual one-third deduction for his early guilty plea, since the Judge found the circumstances of the case to be very grave.

Raffick was, however, given credit for the time he had spent in pre-trial custody.

Justice Kissoon has ordered that, during Raffick’s incarceration, he be exposed to programmes that would aid in his rehabilitation for reintegration into society.

The convict was represented by Senior Counsel Mursaline Bacchus.

In 2020, Rooplall Abrahim and Madanpaul Gocoul, who were also charged with the couple’s murder, pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter. Abrahim was sentenced to life imprisonment; he will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years.

Gocoul, on the other hand, was given a 24-year prison sentence. (G1)

12 NEWS

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“Truly a dream come true” – Guyanese cops Rhodes scholarship

R

awlette Barrow of Guyana is the 2022 Commonwealth Caribbean Rhodes Scholar.

Governor General of Barbados, Dame Sandra Mason, made the announcement on Tuesday evening at Government House.

According to a report from the Barbados Government Information Service, Barrow was chosen from among 12 candidates who were interviewed virtually by the Selection Committee. The other interviewees vying for the prestigious scholarship came from Barbados, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St Vincent and St Kitts.

Dame Sandra described the interview process as an “exciting yet compelling exercise” which showed that “the Caribbean is crammed with able, erudite, articulate, engaging, brilliant and passionate young people” who are committed to regional development.

Dame Sandra added that, based on what she has seen in her capacity as Chairman of the Selection Committee for the past four years, the region was in “good hands, provided that we seek to maintain and retain this brainpower and capabilities” of the youth.

Rawlette Barrow is currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Laws programme at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus. Come next October, she will be heading to the University of Oxford to pursue the Bachelor in Civil Law. The 20-year-old told the Barbados Government Information Service that she

The 2022 Commonwealth Caribbean Rhodes Scholar, Rawlette Barrow

felt “honoured and blessed” to have been awarded the prestigious scholarship, as it was “truly a dream come true”.

“My ultimate goal is to spark legislative and policy changes that will promote the empowerment of young people in Guyana and across the region through equitable access to education and resources, and inclusion in decision-making spaces. I believe that my time at the University of Oxford will help to shape and strengthen my advocacy, and will be instrumental in helping me to reach my fullest potential,” Barrow stated, as she pledged to make Guyana and the entire Caribbean proud.

The Rhodes Scholarship is the world’s preeminent and oldest graduate fellowship, based at the University of Oxford since 1903.

The scholarships for the Caribbean began in 1953.

(Barbados Government Information Service)

news@guyanatimesgy.com

NEWS

16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence

13

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“We have so many girls, so many females, who are hurting and they cover these scars” – Rev Monsell Alves

By Jemima Holmes

G

ender-Based Violence (GBV) has become too common an occurrence, especially in a society that one would describe as ‘modern’.

Almost weekly, headlines are splashed with murders and convictions stemming from this practice, but on a much graver note, there is a large number of these occurrences that receive no publicity, going unreported and unheard of by the public.

The devastating reality is that GBV does not discriminate. It can rear its ugly head in the lives of individuals from all ethnicities, sizes, religious beliefs, social status and gender.

Even more important to note is that abuse can take on emotional, psychological and financial forms; much more than the phys-

period where they needed to raise awareness on the issue of Gender-Based Violence.”

The 16 Days of Activism is primarily focused on instances of GBV towards women and girls; however, the scope of violence and abuse, when analysed, can be widened to much more than what is typically considered to be abuse.

“I like to extend it a bit to ‘End violence, period’.

Whether it is violence directed towards children, violence directed towards our senior citizens, violence that occurs in institutions of care, violence that occurs against persons who may have disabilities, violence against men,” Doris explained, acknowledging the need for other forms and types of abuse to come to the fore.

The “16 Days of Activism” ends on

in person, or in our Zoom chat, because it wouldn’t be 70 women at one time; we know from experience and studies that smaller groups tend to produce a little more, and people are a lot more open when you’re asked to share with 10-15 persons, compared to 70 women sitting together.”

Refreshing

Members of the panel discuss with Guyana Times Journalist Jemima Holmes taking action against Gender-Based Violence during the 16 Days of Activism

men who are very abusive,” Reverend Alves shared with Guyana Times.

In continuing, he high-

“In the church today, we have so many girls, so many females, who are hurting and they cover these scars, sometimes with their make-up. So, you don’t see the bruises; more so, you don’t see the pain and what is quite interesting is that sometimes, the men who you see come to church looking well attired, they have the most esteemed job in our society, those are the men who are very abusive” – Reverend Monsell Alves ical and verbal methods we have been familiarised with.

It is for this reason that awareness has become an integral action in dealing with GBV. For many, this awareness provides the perfect opportunity to share information, scenarios, and stories from survivors.

“I personally believe we should have had a 365day campaign, because 16 days is insufficient to address the many issues that plague our societies,” professional social worker Akilah Doris reasoned.

The topic at hand was, of course, “16 Days of Activism Against GenderBased Violence”, which will commence today, November 25, on what is also the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

While 16 days may appear as adequate for events and awareness, Doris reasons that combating the astronomical numbers of GBV cases in Guyana would require an all-year effort.

Nonetheless, she gave insight into the significance of the observance, saying “It’s a period where countries worldwide, they come together and they advocate for the ending of violence against women and girls. It started in 1991, with the Global Women’s Leadership Institute, when they first advocated for a

December 10, which is globally observed as International Human Rights Day. This is no coincidence as human rights are strongly linked to the need to eradicate GBV.

Activism at St Sidwell’s Parish

One faction of society that is mandated to be cognisant for signs of abuse, abusive relationships or situations, is the church.

After all, it is regarded as a safe haven for many, who are dealing with whatever trials life may toss their way.

At the St Sidwell’s Anglican Church, 16 Days of Activism is of utmost importance, as the church seeks to play a positive role in awareness activities.

Like many other places, Parish Priest Monsell Alves admitted, the church is likely to house victims of abuse, unbeknownst to those who may sit with them, even in the same pew.

“In the church today, we have so many girls, so many females, who are hurting and they cover these scars, sometimes with their make-up. So, you don’t see the bruises; more so, you don’t see the pain and what is quite interesting is that sometimes, the men who you see come to church looking well attired, they have the most esteemed job in our society, those are the

lighted the importance of the church, in particular, creating an environment where persons feel safe enough to share or report their abuse.

“For us as the Anglican church in the parish of St Sidwell’s, it is for us to recognise these issues.”

Additionally, with the first Day of Advent approaching themed “Hope”, Reverend Alves appreciates the coinciding observances, stating, “This GBV 16 Days of Activism could not have fallen at a better time than when we are encouraging ourselves to give ourselves hope and to give those who are hopeless, hope.”

Abuse can happen to anyone

Echoing Reverend Alves’ statement that abuse can occur under anyone’s nose is another member of the St Sidwell’s Church, Alison Barkie, who is also the Deputy Branch Leader of the Mothers’ Union.

Barkie, in sharing an analogy, detailed how difficult it may be for victims to share their stories, especially in a place like the church where perfection is expected from an oblivious few.

“Sometimes, the church tries to hide things, because you’re not happy that in this place of worship somebody can be abused, but it can happen and when we cover it up, it is not helping the individual, it is not

helping our society. Worse yet, if a church leader is involved,” an empathetic Barkie highlighted.

She went on to immediately add, “You’re not going to hear anything about it, hardly, but when it hits social media, it’s a big story.”

As such, she made the bold call for Gender-Based Violence on a whole to be taken as seriously as it is.

Barkie shared, “When we look at what is happening, even in our churches, members aren’t immune to Gender-Based Violence.

Women, girls, boys, even our men. Yes, we are looking at the elimination of violence against women, but the overall Gender-Based Violence aspect really needs a lot of attention.”

As such, not only will St Sidwell’s play an active role in this year’s 16 Days, but the Mothers’ Union in the Diocese will also play an active role.

Particularly at St Sidwell’s, Barkie revealed that on November 27, a Global Day of Action will be observed, where members will participate in three minutes of silence for victims of GBV. Additionally, the church will host a prayer group on December 3, with the eradication of GBV being the focal point of their prayer.

Stand up, speak up and act

Prayer is the common thread between the Mothers’ Union and the church, as the former will take a prayerful approach to this year’s 16 Days of Activism. This is according to the Mothers’ Union Diocesan Social Policy Officer Dawn English.

“We intend to stand up, speak up and act,” English said firmly.

She further stated, “There are too many people who are not very clear on what abuse is or what violence is, so they think they’re not victims. They need to be aware so they can stand up for what is

right.”

On the Mothers’ Union list of activities is a meeting today (November 25) where their members will sport purple scarves.

However, in an act of symbolism with the one in three women who suffer abuse in the world, every third woman’s scarf will be worn as a gag around their mouths.

On December 2, the Mothers’ Union will host a church service, the feature presentation of which is expected to encompass GBV and on December 9, it will explore the Biblical perspective of the family and its importance in combating GBV.

Activism in action

While the knowledge prevails that GBV is an ongoing act of terror in many homes, the biggest issue in stamping it out is not only helping victims understand that they are indeed victims but finding ways for these victims to open up about their experiences.

One way that St Sidwell’s is hoping to foster an environment of comfort is through its newly-formed Women’s Ministries programme.

“We are encouraging all women, those especially who are not attached to our Mother’s Union, to be a part of everything that is happening in the church and we will also be encouraging them to meet in smaller groups,” Barkie revealed.

In disclosing the reason for focusing on smaller groups, Barkie commented that such an environment was more likely to result in women sharing their difficult experiences.

“Sometimes, we want to say something to someone about whatever is affecting us, but we don’t really get the urge to do it, because we are so many,” Barkie explained.

She continued, “We are hoping that when we meet, whether it is here

Doris was very receptive towards this initiative, commenting on the importance of the church being an advocate against GBV. “It’s refreshing to know that the church has taken a proactive approach towards joining forces in addressing this very issue that we face,” Doris remarked.

On making the church a safer space, the professional social worker commented, “There are persons who are broken, who need help, who acknowledge that they need help, but they would never come to us, because of all of these rules and laws and stuff that are in place. Somebody said, we are in no position to judge others and I thank the good Lord that he is the ultimate judge, because if we were to look at our own lives, I don’t think we would have any more time to look at anybody else’s own.”

As such, the group encouraged the use of the colour orange, since it is the global shade attached to the 16 Days of Activism initiative.

“It is a signal, or an indication, that we are a part of the cause towards ending Gender- Based Violence,” Doris informed.

She also took the opportunity to highlight that while the focus would be on women and girls, men also suffer silently.

Touching on the societal notion that ‘men shouldn’t cry’, Doris urged, “We need to move away from these traditional norms.”

“During this period, it is also good to raise the awareness as it relates to our men, because you see, we have not socialised our men to express, to be expressive or to say what is bothering them, or to even show emotion,” she went on to state.

Aside from the church, civil society is expected to show out ‘in their numbers’ over the next 16 Days, to display their solidarity against GBV. Intrinsically, the notion is heart-warming, but as cases of GenderBased Violence, especially in Guyana, continue to rise as the years go by, there needs to be much more than talk.

Like at St Sidwell’s, action needs to take the front seat in dealing with GBV.

14 NEWS

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021|| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Region 6 man is latest COVID-19 fatality …79 new cases

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he COVID-19 death toll in Guyana has risen to 980 after another person who tested positive for the novel coronavirus died.

According to the Health Ministry on Wednesday, this latest fatality is a 55-year-old man from Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), who died on Tuesday. He was fully vaccinated.

This now takes the total number of deaths from the pandemic in the month of November to 54.

Meanwhile, some 79 more persons have contracted the life-threatening virus, according to the Ministry’s updated COVID-19 dashboard on Wednesday.

Consequently, the total number of confirmed cases in Guyana is 37,524, but only 1809 of these are currently active cases. These include 12 patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the remaining 1797 persons in isolation – 75 in institutional isolation and the other 1722 in home isolation.

There are also three more persons in institutional quarantine.

To date, some 34,822

persons have recovered from the life-threatening disease – 106 more recoveries than the figure reported the previous day.

Since the outbreak of the virus here in March 2020, approximately 384,343 persons have been tested for the novel coronavirus of which 17,680 males and 19,844 females were found to be positive.

Of the 79 new cases detected on Wednesday, three were from Region One (Barima-Waini); five from Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam); seven from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); 24 from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); two from Region Five (MahaicaBerbice); a whopping 37 cases from East BerbiceCorentyne, and one case from Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni).

There were no new cases recorded in Regions Eight (Potaro-Siparuni); Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) on Wednesday.

In order to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections and achieve herd immunity in the country, the Guyana Government

launched its COVID-19 vaccination exercise back in February and continues to roll it out across the various regions.

Booster shots

The Health Ministry this week started administering booster shots to persons 50 years and older, persons who have comorbidities and are more at risk of contracting the virus, and frontline health workers. This is in keeping with studies that have found that after six months of taking a second dose, the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines starts to wane.

During Wednesday’s update, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony disclosed that nearly a dozen studies have been conducted around the world, including by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that indicate the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines significantly drops after six months of being fully vaccinated.

With AstraZeneca, immunity reduces to about 44 per cent while with Pfizer, it drops to about 62 per

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD NOVEMBER 24, 2021 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

79

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

75

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION

1722

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

12

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

3

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

19,844

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

17,680

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

37,524

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

34,822

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED

397,612

FULLY IMMUNISED

272,701

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

980

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020 REGION 1

1658

REGION 2

1545

REGION 3

5057

REGION 4

17,639

REGION 5

1389

REGION 6

3156

REGION 7

1779

REGION 8

620

REGION 9

5473

REGION 10

2208

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

Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet.

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

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

“So, if you had a Pfizer or Moderna, six months after the second dose, it’s recommended that you get a third dose. If you had a J&J (Johnson and Johnson) vaccine, two months after, you should get another dose.

Sinopharm has cited studies out of Argentina where Sinopharm was used quite a lot and from those studies, they too have seen a waning of immunity and again, a recommendation from those studies is that you use a third dose. There are other studies in Europe pertaining to AstraZeneca that shows it wanes after six months and there have been studies done in Russia… and the Middle East pertaining to Sputnik,” the Minister explained.

According to Dr Anthony, the Health Ministry has used these various studies to come up with a regimen to administer the booster shots.

Earlier this week, the Health Minister had reported that persons who took the Pfizer, Moderna

or AstraZeneca vaccines can use Pfizer as the booster shot; while those who receive Sputnik V will get a Johnson and Johnson dose as a booster, and those with Sinopharm will get another shot of that jab as a booster.

“So, we have used all of these different studies to come up with the current formulations that we have in terms of giving booster doses because as you can recognise, we have used a variety of vaccines here in Guyana… so we have to get the corresponding booster for which we have put out a table and our vaccination sites are following those instructions,” he stated.

With the Ministry commencing the administration of booster shots this week, Dr Anthony said that arrangements would be put in place to visit the various elderly homes and make necessary house calls to give those fully-vaccinated persons their third shot.

Vaccination stats

So far, some 397,612 or 77.5 per cent of the adult

population have received a first-dose vaccine while 53.2 per cent or 272,701 persons 18 years and older are fully immunised.

With regard to adolescents (aged 12-17), some 28,874 or 39.6 per cent of them got their first dose while 20,075 or 27.5 per cent are fully vaccinated.

According to the Health Minister, there is a slow uptake among adolescents.

He underscored the need to amplify these figures especially if schools are to be fully reopened for in-class sessions.

Nevertheless, as more persons continue to get vaccinated, authorities are urging the public to continue observing all COVID-19 preventative measures, particularly masking in public, social distancing and frequent hand washing and sanitising.

The measures also include vaccination requirements to access any public building such as restaurants, places of worship, schools as well as Government buildings. (G8)

NEWS

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Ramsammy’s Ruminations EPA reviewing insurance coverage The 7% wage and salary increase for 2021: the GPSU and the Opposition’s hypocrisy

for existing oil & gas projects

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he Government announced a 7% increase across-theboard for Public Servants and a $400M top-up for frontline healthcare workers. The PNC/APNU/AFC and the GPSU immediately condemned the Government, insisting that the 7% is unconscionable. This is the same GPSU who had said they had an agreement with the Grangerled Government in 2015 for salary increases in 2016, 2017 and 2018 for a flat payment of $7,500 per month to all public servants, together with a pay increase of 25% across- theboard for 2016, a flat payment of $7,000 per month and 20% increase across-the-board for 2017, and $9,000 per month and 20% increase across-theboard for 2018. None of that Dr Leslie Ramsammy happened, not even close to these proposed increases, with only single-digit increases happening. Adding salt to the open wounds, APNU/AFC gave themselves a 100% increase in salaries and allowances. Throughout all of those sordid, shameful years, the GPSU sat silent.

Similarly, APNU/AFC/PNC are totally hypocritical when they criticise the 7% across-the-board increase. Not only did they restrict Public Servants’ increases to single digits in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, but faced with an election which they delayed for more than a year, the PNC announced an election gimmick pay increase in November 2019, retroactive to January 2019. Public Servants earning less than G$100,000 a month received a 7% increase; G$100,000 to G$299,999 got a 6.5% increase; G$300,000 to G$499,999 got a 5% increase; G$500,000 to G$699,999 got 3% increase; G$700,000 to G$799,999 got 2%; G$800,000 to G$999,999 got 1%; and above G$1 million got 0.5% increase. The only persons ever to get double-digit increases were the Ministers, who got as much as a 100% increase. Suddenly, these same people believe that the PPP’s 7% increase across-the-board for 2021 is a criminal act.

They also disowned their irresponsibility that, by illegally delaying the elections for more than a year, and then illegally holding on to power for an additional five months after losing an election, they denied Public Servants salary increases for 2020.

Also, these are the same charlatans that took away annual bonuses from the Police, prison, fire and military services between 2015 and 2020. These are the same hypocritical critics who took away the jobs of more than 7,000 sugar workers, and then the fired sugar workers had to go to the courts to get their severance payments.

These are the same people who fired 2,000 Amerindian Community Development Officers without ever thinking of any alternative way for these young Amerindians to make a living. Yet, today, when the Government of Guyana is granting an across-theboard salary increase to Public Servants retroactive to January 2021, in addition to several cash relief programs throughout 2021, the PNC and their appendages, like the AFC and the WPA, denounce the move as not just inadequate, but criminal.

The PNC, like the GPSU, are not just being petty, they continue to be obstructionist. They find fault with everything, relentlessly picking petty quarrels. They have refused any cooperation with Government to make changes to ensure GECOM’s conduct in future elections prevent a repeat of March 2020. They claim they will conduct their own internal consultations for any possible change in the operation of GECOM. One of the PNC’s appendages has decided that the changes proposed by the Government are totally unacceptable, but they have also refused to make any counterproposal. They are being petty. These are politicians who cannot rise above their petty obsession, believing that unless they are in Government, they must ensure Guyana cannot move forward.

As our OIL and GAS riches begin to become reality, there are those among us who are desperate to ensure we remain stagnant, that we put before our people every possible barrier. The PNC and the small political parties that have become appendages of the PNC are desperate, and will do anything to prevent Guyana from moving forward. A few weeks ago, one group of Guyanese in Brooklyn, linked to the PNC, called for burning down of Georgetown.

Earlier, David Hinds called for “undermining the Government of Guyana “by any means necessary.” His call was reminiscent of the PNC’s call in 1997 and 2001, to make Guyana ungovernable through the “slo fyah, mo’ fyah” campaign. Soon after Hinds’s outburst and the Brooklyn group’s call to burn down Georgetown, a spate of fires has destroyed a number of buildings, including the Brickdam Police Station and, just this past week, Police buildings at Eve Leary.

Fifty-eight years ago, on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy, the American President, was assassinated. On that night, he had ended his trip with an appeal to Americans to “let us not be petty, because our cause is great”. Guyana has endured too many years of being a poor developing country. Now, because President Janet Jagan, in 1999, dared to sign a deal with EXXON, we are poised to be among the world’s richest countries. We, the people, need to work together to change Guyana’s destiny, to move Guyana ahead as the most advanced economy in Caricom. Our people deserve this new dispensation. The only barrier right now is us, we ourselves stand before us as our worst possible enemies.

EPA Executive Director Kemraj Parsaram

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he Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting a comprehensive review of insurance coverage, or lack thereof, for existing oil and gas projects currently being carried out offshore Guyana.

In an interview with this publication, EPA Executive Director Kemraj Parsaram explained that the agency is currently reviewing the protection in place at various oil projects operating offshore Guyana.

According to Parsaram, this includes ensuring that individual insurance and parent companies’ guarantees are up to standard and are included in a draft agreement currently being discussed with ExxonMobil.

“So, I’m reviewing all the past projects and the insurance coverage that they have, and making sure it’s in keeping with the Act. So that’s insurance. And there’s also a need for parent companies’ guarantee, so there’s a draft that was provided, and that is what we’re reviewing right now. I’m making sure that our legal minds are reviewing it, and that at the end of the day, before we sign anything and finalise, it is okay,” Parsaram said.

In the case of parent companies’ guarantee, this is applicable in the case of subsidiaries, and would ensure money can be recouped from their parent companies.

For instance, in Guyana, ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), is actually the operator in the Stabroek, Canje and Kaieteur blocks.

“So, you have individual insurance per project, and then you have the guarantee that will cover the entire block. In the event that anything is to happen to one of these projects, the parent company guarantee comes in,” the EPA Executive Director said.

It is understood that Guyana currently has insurance coverage for the Liza Fields One and Two from insurance firm Aon Plc. This insurance covers up to US$600 million each for misfortunes that include well blow-outs, pollution, and spills’ cleanup.

A prevailing concern during ExxonMobil’s scop-

A parent company guarantee for EEPGL is currently being reviewed by the EPA

ing meetings is what would happen in the event of an oil spill. But the oil company recently said they are willing to step up to the plate and meet the financial cost in that event.

Exxon recently held a public disclosure meeting for the Yellowtail project, which they are looking to start up in 2025. The meeting, a virtual one, was hosted by the EPA, and discussions were centred on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project.

During his presentation, EEPGL Project Manager Steve Laws acknowledged the concerns Guyanese have about oil spills, in particular the financial repercussions on the country. He assured, however, that Exxon would take care of this fiduciary responsibility.

“Our first priority with all parties is to put in place the mitigation. What we showed in the modeling, if

something was to happen, that’s unlikely. Now if something did happen, we’d take that responsibility and pay the cost in that event. We have the financial capacity to meet that responsibility… (both) under Guyanese law and the petroleum agreement as well for the Stabroek block,” he had explained.

ExxonMobil has said it anticipates at least six projects offshore Guyana will be online by 2027, with developmental drilling recently starting on the second one, the Liza Phase 2 project. Back in May 2019, EEPGL was granted approval by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to go ahead with its Liza Phase 2 Development offshore Guyana.

The oil company had said that the project would have the capacity to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day. Exxon had also revealed that the Liza Phase

2 development was funded at the cost of some US$6 billion, including a lease capitalisation cost of approximately US$1.6 billion for the Liza Utility floating FPSO vessel. For the Phase 2 Development, six drill centres were planned, along with approximately 30 wells – 15 productions, nine water injection and six gas injection wells.

The US$9 billion Payara development, the third development, will meanwhile target an estimated resource base of about 600 million oil-equivalent barrels, and was at one point considered to be the largest single planned investment in the history of Guyana.

The Yellowtail development, which will be oil giant ExxonMobil’s fourth development in Guyana’s waters, will turn out to be the single largest development so far in terms of barrels per day (bpd) of oil, with a mammoth 250,000 bpd targeted. (G3)

16 NEWS

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

59 families to receive land titles at WCB

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC

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he Government of Guyana has taken to the West Coast of Berbice (Region 5) its drive to ensure everyone is settled on regularised land, and more than 50 families have been assured that they would receive certificates of title for their house lots.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, on Wednesday led a delegation which included staff from the Legal Affairs Ministry, the Ministry of Housing, officials from the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund Committee (SILWFC) and officials of Region 5 to meet with residents of Hope/ Bath Settlement.

While there, he discussed with them the issuance of

certificates of title for house lots which they occupy. In his remarks, the Minister of Legal Affairs stated that approximately 59 families would benefit from the exercise. These are persons who are, or were, former employees of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) who purchased these lots since 1996 but were not issued with titles.

Nandlall reminded that this is part of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C’s) campaign promise to identify these areas across the country that are affected and to ensure that they are regularised and titles are issued for the lands.

Noting that President Dr Irfaan Ali’s Government

is committed to fulfilling this promise, he identified Non Pariel, East Coast Demerara as one of the areas where the initiative was successfully completed and over fifty families received their certificates of title.

He reminded also of a similar initiative launched some three weeks ago at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo.

A variation of the exercise is being conducted at Cotton Tree, and at Numbers 4 and 5 Villages, West Coast Berbice.

The Attorney General also explained the fundamental importance of a certificate of title.

“It is that document which conclusively declares you to be the owner of the land to which it relates. No one, not even the State, can lawfully take that land away from you without compensation. It is that document that enables you to borrow from the commercial banks; it is that instrument which permits you to transmit that land to your children and future generations,” Nandlall said.

The Attorney General promised the residents that the titles would be ready

by May of 2022. Member of

Some of the persons who will benefit from the issuance of certificates of title

Parliament Faizal Jaffarally and Region 5 Chairman Vickchand Ramphal were also in attendance.

Earlier this month, almost 100 people were presented with their titles in the community of Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo, Region

Three. The persons who collected their titles were either employees of GuySuCo or their descendants who had been allotted house lots as far back as 1997.

Unfortunately, titles for those lands were never granted to the allottees, al-

though the block title was passed from GuySuCo to the SILWFC. An occupational survey plan has already been completed, and the processing of the titles to individual allottees would now begin. (G3)

300% increase in sexual violence cases in Region 2

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Regional Commander Denise Griffith

olice records have revealed that Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) has seen an increase of 300 per cent in cases of sexual violence, according to Regional Commander Denise Griffith.

Commander Griffith has said she is currently working to address these matters and bring such cases under control. She made this revelation during this week’s episode of “Police and You”, wherein she said that rape is one of the most prevalent acts in the region.

“Three hundred per cent might sound alarming, but it simply means that last year might have had one, and this year might have had three or four. That, to mind, an examination comes because of the age factor… a child cannot give consent

unless she attains the age of 16…it’s no longer where we have the forceful entry of a male on a female, but now it’s more or less a touching,” the Commander said.

She added that in most cases where the females would be involved in sexual activities, persons are not aware of the statutory age range, and that is considered rape.

Robberies

Apart from the increase in rape cases, the Commander said there has also being an increase in the number of cases of robbery-under-arms. Even with this increase in robbery, the Commander said, there has been a decrease in several other types of crime.

“We have a decrease of robbery by 50%, our clear-up

rate is actually 50%… Even though things are happening, we still have a lot of successes”, she said.

The Commander has said she is of the belief that the increases being encountered in crime-related issues were because the division was without a vehicle for some time.

“I want to believe that because we were out of a vehicle for some time in the Region, that caused a spike, because persons were aware that there are no vehicles and they targeted certain areas… Another thing is that some persons in the area might not want to say anything out of fear…that is it for crime”, she explained.

Only last week, Police statistics revealed that sexual offences reported in Division One (BarimaWaini) are on the increase.

Region One Commander, Superintendent Boodnarine Persaud, said most of these cases are reported after pregnancy had occurred, and in his Region, there were 48 complaints compared to 14 last year, and 14 had been against 3 the previous year.

Curbing the increase in these cases, the Commander said, calls for sensitisation of the communities on the issues at hand. (G9)

NEWS

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$614M contract signed Jehovah’s Witnesses for new Fire Service HQ embark on positive THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

campaign

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Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn hands over the contract to Nazier Mohamed of Mohammed’s Enterprise in the presence of other officials

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he Home Affairs Ministry on Wednesday awarded a contract of $614 million to Mohammed’s Enterprise for the construction of the new head office of the Guyana Fire Service.

The contract was signed between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary,

Mae Thomas and Nazier Mohamed of Mohammed’s Enterprise.

The building will be erected on a site on Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown. The contract was awarded to Mohammed’s Enterprise via public tender.

Construction will commence no later than

December 1, 2021, and is expected to last for some 14 months.

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn, who witnessed the signing ceremony, said the relocation of the Guyana Fire and Ambulance Service will help increase the emergency response time, as it will be away

from the heavily congested Stabroek Market area.

The new facility will allow the Fire Service headquarters more space, and greater capacity to hold the equipment and assets, he stated. Benn noted that Georgetown was physically expanding to the East and the South.

uyana will be one of the thousands of communities around the globe that will receive a powerful message of hope this November as Jehovah’s Witnesses embark upon a special campaign focusing attention on the Bible’s hope for a better world.

The campaign will feature the distribution of a special edition of The Watchtower magazine containing the cover series “A Better World Is Near”.

“People are longing to hear a positive message and this is the best news possible,” said Daren Sendall, National Spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “A better world is not just a dream, it’s inevitable. In fact, it is a central part of Jesus’ gospel.”

This positive message

has been the hope of millions around the world who have prayed for God’s Kingdom to come. One such person is former West Indies opening batsman Adrian Barath.

Commenting on how the Biblical hope for a better world has changed his life, the former cricketer said: “From my experience in travelling to various countries, I saw suffering to an extent unimaginable.

I read at Revelation 21:3, 4 that God's Kingdom promises a world free from crime, poverty, sickness and death. This has given my life more purpose, knowing that God will restore this earth to a paradise and my family and I will have the hope of living forever on it, free from the problems we all face today.”

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guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021

Regional

T&T crosses 2000 COVID deaths

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he Trinidad and Tobago Health Ministry has recorded 11 additional COVID19-related deaths. This brings the total number of deaths to 2009.

There are currently 542 patients in the hospital. The Ministry has also recorded 689 new COVID cases in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of active cases to 9297.

Meanwhile, the Couva Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce (CPLCC) is calling on the Government to expand the number of Safe Zones to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Chamber President Mukesh Ramsingh, who

Chamber President Ramsingh

Mukesh

spoke at a news conference on Monday, said “Since the lift of the State of Emergency and the curfew, cases will be rising and have started to rise.

Safe Zones have been effective in bars and restaurants and it can be more

effective, in decreasing the spread of the virus. We would like to ask that this system start off small with banks, groceries, religious organisations, and also public spaces.

“We are hoping that eventually we can increase it to shopping malls and retail outlets.”

Ramsingh also called for the reopening of the sporting sector through Safe Zones at sporting facilities.

He said, “We also hope people are encouraged to get vaccinated. We think the Safe Zones are the way to go if we do not want to go into another lockdown.”

(Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Caravan migrants accept Mexico visa deal to disperse

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housands of migrants in southern Mexico have accepted a Government offer to quit a US-bound caravan in exchange for Mexican visas, officials said on Tuesday night.

The caravan is one of two large groups of migrants, many from Central America and the Caribbean, that left the southern city of Tapachula in recent weeks to embark on foot on the long journey north toward the US border with families including young children.

The caravan migrants who left Tapachula last week accepted a Government proposal to “begin the process that

will allow them to regularise their legal status”, according to a joint statement from the Interior Ministry and national migration institute.

By Tuesday, this group had progressed as far as the town of Mapastepec in the southern state of Chiapas, under the guidance of caravan organiser Luis Garcia Villagran from advocacy group Pueblo Sin Fronteras.

Garcia told Reuters that most of the migrants in the caravan had accepted the offer and officials would eventually bus them out of Chiapas, distributing them across 10 states. The Government statement, however, listed nine states.

In exchange for the deal, the organisers agreed not to assemble more caravans in future, a Mexican migration official said later, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Caravan organiser Garcia denied that such a deal had been made, and the statement made no mention of it.

Migrants have repeatedly expressed scepticism about receiving documentation regularising them in Mexico, and organisers say another caravan is ready to depart from Tapachula, a major migrant massing point close to the border with Guatemala. (Excerpt from Reuters)

US could drop Colombia’s FARC from “terror” list by end of month Honduran leftist, teamed

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he United States’ planned removal of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group from its list of “foreign terrorist organisations” could happen as early as the end of November, an unnamed US official told the Reuters news agency.

The move was first reported by US news outlets on Tuesday, the eve of the five-year anniversary of a landmark peace deal between the Marxist rebels and Colombia’s Government that put an end to decades of violence.

The FARC’s removal from Washington’s “foreign terrorist” list could be implemented by

late November or early December, the US official told Reuters.

The US State Department notified Congress on Tuesday of its planned delisting of the FARC, while the Colombian Government was formally notified on Wednesday.

The FARC fought for five decades in an era of devastating political violence in Colombia, carrying out bombings, assassinations, kidnappings and attacks in the name of redistributing wealth to Colombia’s poor.

The group signed the peace deal with Bogota in 2016, and in 2018 took part in a United Nationssupervised decommission-

ing of the last of its accessible weapons. Today, it is designated as a political party, with a guaranteed share of seats in Colombia’s legislature.

Removing the group from the US terror list would allow American officials to work with FARC members who are now entering private or political life, the US official said.

The official also said the Administration of US President Joe Biden intends to keep hardliner groups made up of former FARC rebels and a second group of ex-rebels that uses a variation of the FARC name on the list of “terrorist” organisations. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Peru’s chief of staff stashed US$20,000 in palace bathroom

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rosecutors in Peru have found US$20,000 stashed in a bathroom inside the presidential palace.

The Prosecutors raided the palace on Friday as part of an investigation into allegations of influence peddling.

Bruno Pacheco, who resigned from his post as President Pedro Castillo’s chief of staff on Friday, told investigators that the money was his, but denied any wrongdoing.

He said that the stash was a combination of his savings and salary.

Pacheco’s monthly salary amounts to 25,000 soles (US$6250), an official document reveals.

According to the document, he did not tell investigators why he kept such a large amount of dollars in the bathroom of his office.

The raid was part of an investigation into allegations that Pacheco pressured the head of Peru’s tax and customs agency to

with TV host, gains in race to be 1st woman President

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eftist Xiomara Castro has a shot at winning an election on Sunday, to become Honduras’ first female President and end years of conservative rule marred by graft and ties to drug smugglers.

An alliance with former rival candidate Salvador Nasralla, a popular television host, gave a boost in the polls to Castro, 62.

She has said that if she beats ruling party candidate Nasry Asfura, she will explore establishing diplomatic ties with China, which could cause tension with Washington.

But US President Joe Biden, who sees weak rule of law in Central America as driving heavy migration to the United States, may approve of her pledge to enlist the United Nations’ help to build an anti-corruption agency.

“We are going to build a fair and competitive Honduras that fights corruption and drug trafficking,” Castro said last week of her bid to make history as first woman President in the Central American na-

Xiomara Castro, presidential candidate for the Opposition Libre Party, gives a thumbs up during the closing rally of her electoral campaign in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, November 20, 2021

tion, among the poorest in the Western Hemisphere and a leading source of migrants reaching the US border at record levels.

Her husband, former President Manuel Zelaya, was deposed in a 2009 coup after aligning with late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, a socialist. His successors, former President Porfirio Lobo and President Juan Orlando Hernandez, both of the National Party, have both

been caught up in allegations of ties to drug smugglers.

Zelaya also was accused of taking bribes from traffickers.

They have all denied wrongdoing.

Last month, Castro allied with 2017 runner-up Nasralla. An opinion poll by Tegucigalpa-based democratic studies institute CESPAD after the tie-up showed her with a 17-point lead over Asfura, of the ruling National Party.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Gold rush draws hundreds of dredging rafts to Amazon tributary

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The money was found in a bathroom in the government palace

give certain companies run by his friends more favourable terms.

Pacheco denies the allegations.

He has also insisted that his resignation was not linked to any wrongdoing, but was to protect Castillo, “so that the President won’t be touched by this smear campaign”.

“I leave with my head held high and with the cer-

tainty that I will prove my innocence,” he wrote in a statement.

President Castillo named a new chief of staff to replace Pacheco on Tuesday.

Castillo, a left-wing former teacher, became President in July after narrowly beating his rightwing rival, Keiko Fujimori, in the election. (Excerpt from BBC News)

undreds of dredging rafts operated by illegal miners have gathered in a gold rush on the Madeira River, a major tributary of the Amazon, floating hundreds of miles as State and federal authorities dispute who is responsible for stopping them.

The flotilla of rafts equipped with pumps are moored together in lines that nearly stretch across the vast Madeira, and a Reuters witness spotted plumes of exhaust indicating they are vacuuming the riverbed for gold.

“We counted no less than

300 rafts. They’ve been there at least two weeks and the Government has done nothing,” said Greenpeace Brazil activist Danicley Aguiar.

The gold rush, triggered by rumours that someone had found gold there, began as world leaders gathered for a United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, where Brazil vowed it had stepped up protection of the Amazon rainforest.

However, far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has weakened environmental enforcement since taking office in 2019, turning a blind eye

to invasions of protected public and Indigenous lands by illegal loggers, cattle ranchers, and wildcat gold miners.

The Madeira flows some 3300 kilometres (2000 miles) from its source in Bolivia through the rainforest in Brazil and into the Amazon River.

The dredging rafts have floated downriver from the Humaita area, where there has been a surge in illegal gold mining, and were last seen some 650 km (400 miles) away in Autazes, a municipal district southeast of Manaus.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS New Swedish PM resigns on 1st

day in job, hopes for swift return

Oil steadies as investors question reserve release

O

il prices were largely steady on Wednesday as investors questioned the effectiveness of a US-led release of oil from strategic reserves and turned their focus to how producers will respond.

Brent crude settled down six cents, or 0.07 per cent, at US$82.25 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 11 cents, or 0.14 per cent, at US$78.39.

The United States said it would release millions of barrels of oil from strategic reserves in coordination with China, India, South Korea, Japan, and Britain to try to cool prices after Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) ignored calls to pump more.

Japan will release "a few hundred thousand kilolitres" of oil from its national reserve, but timing has not been decided, its Industry Minister, Koichi Hagiuda said on Wednesday.

Some countries have not taken a helpful position in terms of oil and gas prices, the head of the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, saying not enough supply was reaching consumers.

Analysts said the effect on prices was likely to be shortlived after years of declining investment and a strong global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coordinated release could add about 70 million to 80 million barrels of crude supply, smaller than the more than 100 million barrels the market has been pricing in, analysts at Goldman Sachs said.

"On our pricing model, such a release would be worth less than US$2 a barrel, significantly less than the US$8 a barrel sell-off that occurred since late October," the bank said in a note titled "a drop in the ocean".

JPMorgan Global Commodities Research said any impact on oil prices from the release of crude may not be sustained for long. The brokerage also expects global oil demand to surpass 2019 levels by March 2022.

While attention has now switched to how the OPEC+ will react to the joint reserve release, sources said the group was not discussing pausing oil output increases for now. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Current Finance Minister and Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson is appointed as the country's new Prime Minister after voting at the Swedish Parliament Riksdagen in Stockholm, Sweden, November 24, 2021. Andersson was the first-ever Swedish female Prime Minister

S

weden's first female Prime Minister, Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson, resigned on Wednesday after less than 12 hours in the top job after the Green Party quit their

two-party coalition, stoking political uncertainty.

But Andersson said she had told the Speaker of Parliament she hoped to be appointed Prime Minister again as the head of a single-party gov-

ernment, and the prospects of that happening appeared fairly strong given support from other parties.

The Green Party quit after Parliament rejected the coalition's budget bill.

"I have asked the Speaker to be relieved of my duties as Prime Minister," Andersson told a news conference. "I am ready to be Prime Minister in a single-party, Social Democrat Government."

The Green Party said it would support her in any new confirmation vote in Parliament, while the Centre Party promised to abstain, which in practice amounts to the same as backing her candidacy. The Left Party has also said it would back her.

While these parties were unable to agree a budget, they are united in the goal of keep-

ing the Sweden Democrats, a populist, anti-immigration party, from having a role in Government.

"The Centre Party will open the door for her (Andersson) to be Prime Minister," its leader, Annie Loof, said on Twitter.

"We will make sure, again, that Sweden can have a government that is not dependent on the Sweden Democrats."

The Opposition right-wing Moderates and Christian Democrats are backed by the Sweden Democrats, but cannot command a majority in parliament.

The Speaker of parliament will now decide the next step in the process of finding a new government, but will most likely put Andersson forward for a new vote in coming days. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Jury delivers guilty verdicts in killing of US jogger Ahmaud Arbery

A

jury in the US state of Georgia has delivered guilty verdicts to three men for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, whose fatal shooting last year fuelled mass protests against racism and vigilantism in the United States.

The jury in the city of Brunswick, Georgia, on Wednesday found Travis McMichael, 35, guilty on all nine charges he faced, including malice murder, felony

murder, false imprisonment, and aggravated assault.

His father, 65-year-old Gregory McMichael, and their neighbour, William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, were also found guilty on several counts, including felony murder.

The three men – all of whom pleaded not guilty – were charged after chasing and fatally shooting Arbery in February 2020 as he jogged through the coastal communi-

ty of Satilla Shores, just outside of Brunswick, Georgia.

The 25-year-old’s killing became part of a larger reckoning on racial injustice in the US after graphic video of his death leaked online two months later and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case, quickly arresting the three men.

Before delivering their verdict on Wednesday, the jurors asked to re-watch video re-

corded by Bryan on his mobile phone of Travis McMichael firing his pump-action shotgun at close range into Arbery. That video became some of the most important evidence delivered during the trial.

The younger McMichael, the only defendant to take the witness stand, said he fired his shotgun at Arbery in self-defence. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Ethiopian leader heads to war's front Slovakia follows Austria lines as Olympians join the military into lockdown amid record surge in COVID cases

S

lovakia's Government followed the example of neighbouring Austria on Wednesday and ordered a two-week lockdown to quell the world's fastest rise in COVID-19 cases as the number of people sick in hospital reached a critical level and vaccination levels remain low.

Restaurants and non-essential shops will close as part of the measures and movement will be limited to trips for essential shopping, work, school or medical visits, along with walks in nature, Government officials said.

Slovakia on Tuesday registered more than 10,000 new daily infections for the first time since the pandemic started, while hospitalisations hit what the Health Ministry called a "critical point" that meant limiting other care and possibly asking for foreign assistance.

"The situation is serious," Prime Minister Eduard

Heger said. "We got here because the (existing) measures were not observed."

Adjusted for population size, Slovakia is experiencing the world's fastest rise in infections, according to Our World in Data, topping a list currently led by other European countries.

The neighbouring Czech Republic and Hungary both registered a record daily rise in cases on Tuesday, while Austria also implemented a total lockdown this week, shutting non-essential shops, bars and cafes for at least 10 days.

Slovakia's decision to return to a lockdown comes after the Government already slapped new restrictions on unvaccinated people this week in a bid to push up inoculations. Before that, the country had been gradually tightening restrictions in regions hard-hit as cases have jumped over the past month. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed

E

thiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has gone to direct the war from the front lines, State-affiliated media reported on Wednesday, as two Olympian athletes announced they were enlisting in the military.

Gold medallist Haile Gebrselassie, who set 27 long-distance running records, told Reuters he was joining up. So is Olympic silver medallist runner Feyisa Lelisa, local media reported.

"What would you do when the existence of a country is at stake? You just put down

everything. Alas, nothing will bind you. I am sorry!"

Haile told Reuters.

While Abiy is away, Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen Hassen would take charge of routine Government business in his absence, Government spokesman Legesse Tulu told a news conference, according to a report from Fana news outlet.

Abiy announced late on Monday he was planning to personally direct the fight against Tigrayan forces and their allies.

"Let's meet at the war front," he wrote "The time has come to lead the country with sacrifice."

Last month Tigrayan forces and their allies threatened to march on the capital Addis Ababa. They have also been fighting fiercely to try to cut a transport corridor linking landlocked Ethiopia with the region's main port Djibouti.

On Tuesday, US Special Envoy Jeffrey Feltman said the Ethiopian military and regional militias had been able to hold back Tigrayan attempts to cut the corridor, but Tigrayan forces had been

able to move south towards the capital.

Ethiopia's military spokes-

person did not respond to requests for comment. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Migrant tragedy is biggest loss of life in Channel

T

hirty-one people headed for the United Kingdom have drowned in the English Channel near Calais after their boat sank.

The International Organisation for Migration said it was the biggest single loss of life in the Channel since it began collecting data in 2014.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "appalled" by what happened, adding the UK would leave "no stone unturned" to stop human trafficking gangs.

Five women and a girl were among the dead, France's Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin said.

Darmanin also said two people were rescued and one was missing.

Four people had been arrested near to the Belgian border, he added, saying: "We suspect that they were directly linked to this particular crossing."

On Wednesday evening, PM Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to step up joint efforts to prevent the crossings and stop the gangs putting people's lives at risk, Downing Street said.

A fishing boat sounded the alarm on Wednesday afternoon after spotting several people at sea off the coast of France.

French and British authorities were conducting a rescue operation by air and sea to see if they could find anyone.

Johnson said the deaths were a "disaster", adding that it was vital to "break" the people trafficking gangs which, he said, were "literally getting away with murder".

Speaking after chairing an emergency Cobra meeting, the Prime Minister said more needed to be done to stop criminals organising crossings. (Excerpt from BBC News)

20

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021

guyanatimesgy.com

ARCHIE

ARIES (March 21April 19)

TAURUS

DILBERT

(April 20May 20)

An unexpected change in a relationship will leave you at a loss. Take a moment to rethink your steps and figure out the best way to move forward. Put your energy where it counts.

Inconsistency will be the enemy. Don't share your thoughts before you are sure you can deliver. Put more effort into personal goals, physical improvements and being diplomatic.

Do what matters most.

GEMINI Rearrange things at home or (May 21- work to make your space proJune 20) mote efficiency. Reach out to someone who grounds you; you'll gain insight into something that will help your progress.

CANCER (June 21July 22)

PEANUTS

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

CALVIN AND HOBBES

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

SUDOKU

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22)

An emotional matter is best dealt with quickly.

Don't let situations fester until they spin out of control. Challenge yourself and concentrate on being and doing your best.

Refuse to let others stifle your creativity or stop you from enjoying life. Deal with the inevitable by doing things that engage your mind with people who share your concerns. Keep a positive attitude.

Concentrate on things that matter. Take care of domestic situations to avoid upsetting a neighbor, relative or loved one. A change of plans will favor you. Don't make a fuss; time is on your side.

You'll be able to convince others to see things your way if you are firm in your assertions. Set your plans in motion, and finish what you start. Get things done instead of worrying about others.

Be careful whom you trust. An emotional situation will lead to instability and a falling out. Don't let anger set in when diplomacy and a cool head are what's needed.

You can make your SAGITTARIUS money work for you if you (Nov. 23set priorities and avoid beDec. 21) ing too generous with others.

Don't be fooled by a fast talker. Stay focused on what you are trying to achieve.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

TUESDAY'S WORD -- MALAMUTE

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19)

Keep your personal and professional lives separate. If you let your emotions interfere with your responsibilities, you will fall short of your expectations.

Physical activity will pay off.

Put things in perspective, sort out what you must do and get busy. Discipline and intelligence will help you stay on track until you reach your destination. Be a leader.

Don't share your thoughts or intentions. Help (Feb. 20those in need, but don't pay March 20) for someone else's mistake.

A change you make will help you further your career or start a new one.

PISCES

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021

21

Gayle’s farewell looks bright

-CWI in conversation with Jamaica Government towards this end

By Brandon Corlette

C

hris Gayle’s dream of playing a farewell match in Jamaica is shaping up to be a reality. Cricket West Indies (CWI) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Johnny Grave has said the board is in conversation with the Jamaica Government to host Ireland at Sabina Park in a T20 International in January 2022.

Gayle wants to finish his career at home

“Three ODIs against Ireland the second week in January, and then one T20I at Sabina Park. Hopefully, if fans are allowed, that would be a good opportunity for us to say farewell to Chris at his home ground,” Grave has said.

“We are still talking to the Jamaican Government around

the protocols and the ability to play the series there. But I hope within the next few days we can confirm that series taking place and being held in Jamaica,” he explained.

“We know that, in terms of international tournaments, the (T20 World Cup) was the last one. Collectively, we (at CWI) feel it is appropriate for him to have one last game at home, to say farewell; and certainly, the Ireland series would represent that opportunity.

“Whether or not it happens I do not know, but it would be appropriate, as far as I can see it, to treat our players and give them the opportunity to bow out, especially players like Chris, who had unbelievable careers and won trophies for the West Indies,” Grave disclosed on the Mason and Guest radio programme.

During the West Indies’ last match at the 2021 T20 World Cup, Gayle clarified that he had not made a decision to retire, but that the end of his international career was coming. “I was just having some fun today,” he said. “Put everything that happened aside, I was just interacting with the fans in the stand and just having some fun, seeing as it’s going to be my last World Cup game.”

Asked to clarify his comments, Gayle laughed: “I’d love to play one more World Cup, but I don’t think they will allow me. It’s been a phenomenal career. I didn’t announce any retirement, but they actually give me one game in

Jamaica to go in front of my home crowd, then I can say, ‘Hey guys, thank you so much!’

Let’s see. If not, I’ll announce it long time, and then I’ll be joining DJ Bravo in the backend and say thanks to each and every one; but I can’t say that as yet.”

Gayle played 79 T20Is, 103 Tests and 301 ODIs. Gayle’s international career has spanned 22 years.

Often forgotten in the Chris Gayle story are the challenges he has had to overcome over the journey, including the need for heart surgery Chris Gayle in 2005, after he retired mid-innings in a Test match against Australia.

He excelled in Test cricket, primarily as an opening batter, making 7,214 runs at 42.18, with 15 centuries and a high score of 333. And in ODI cricket, he made more than 10,000 runs at 37.83, with his high score of 215 coming at the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. A two-time winner of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, in 2012 and 2016, Gayle was fittingly the first player to score a century in the format at the international level, doing so in the maiden T20 World Cup match.

The Universe Boss has been a dominant force in franchise leagues around the world, scoring more T20 runs than anyone else (14,321) and hitting a record 22 T20 centuries, 14 more than any other player.

BCB secures sponsorship from Dr Frank Denbow for fast Karim Benzema found guilty of complicity in sex-tape scandal bowling clinic with the legendary Sir Curtly Ambrose

T

he proactive and visionary Berbice Cricket Board continues to break new ground as it strives to develop the game in the Ancient County to another level over the next two years. The Board, under the leadership of Hilbert Foster, has secured sponsorship from overseasbased Guyanese medical doctor Frank Denbow for a proposed fast bowling clinic in the county in the new year.

Foster, who has spearheaded a major resuscitation of Berbice Cricket since his election in 2018, has said the BCB would be organising a series of cricketing clinics in 2022 as it strives to make sure that every emerging talent is given every opportunity to develop.

With this in mind, during 2022, the board would be hosting at least twelve major clinics to cater for every aspect of the game, including fast bowling, off-spin, leg-spin, left-arm orthodox, wicket-keeping, batting, fielding, physical fitness, and captaincy.

To achieve this objective, the BCB intends to use not only its own coaching staff, but former and current Test players who

Dr Frank Denbow

Sir Curtly Ambrose

are considered positive role models. The BCB President has said that Dr Denbow contacted him about three months ago to inform him that he was very impressed with the raw talent of West Indies under-19 player Isai Thorne, and would be willing to sponsor a fast-bowling clinic if the board was able to obtain the services of legendary fast bowler Sir Curtly Ambrose.

The BCB President, who is also a Director of Cricket West Indies, has commenced discussion with Sir Curtly Ambrose, who has indicated that he is available to come after the Under-19 World Cup, where he is the bowling coach, and the England/West Indies series, where he is expect-

ed to serve as a cricket commentator.

Foster expects the clinic to be held in late March or early April. The sponsorship is worth $1.3M, and will cover the cost of a stipend for Ambrose, accommodation, local transportation, airline ticket, security, and meals for a four-day visit.

The packed schedule would include three fourhour clinics, a welcome cocktail, question-and-answer segment with youths, an award presentation, and farewell ceremony. A trip to the Upper Corentyne area is also being planned.

Foster has expressed gratitude to Dr Denbow for his support, and noted that the generous doctor donat-

ed to the Demerara Cricket Club and Queen’s College during a recent visit to Guyana. Berbice, he noted, is known mostly for its spinners, but this investment would allow more fast bowlers to emerge and follow in the footsteps of players like John Trim, Romario Shepherd, Leslaine Lambert, Ray Joseph and Kevin Darlington.

The BCB President also disclosed that promising fast bowlers from the other counties would be invited to attend the sessions, as the objective is to assist Guyana Cricket. The board would also expand hosting of its social skill seminars across the county to go along with the clinics under the developmental programme.

Sir Curtly Ambrose is widely rated as one of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of cricket, taking 405 wickets in 98 Test matches at an average of 21.00, and 225 wickets from 176 ODI matches at an average 24.10.

He produced one of the greatest fast bowling spells versus Australia in 1993 when he took seven wickets for one run at the famous Perth Ground.

...handed one-year suspended prison sentence

K

Karim Benzema

arim Benzema has been handed a oneyear suspended prison sentence and fined 75,000 pounds after being found guilty of complicity in the attempted blackmail of Mathieu Valbuena.

The Real Madrid and France striker was one of five people standing trial over the attempt to extort former international teammate Valbuena in a case dating back to June 2015.

Benzema has always denied the accusations, and one of his lawyers, Antoine Vey, expressed shock after Wednesday's verdict, before confirming that an appeal will be lodged.

Benzema was not present at court in Versailles, as

he was preparing for Real Madrid's Champions League clash with Sheriff later on Wednesday. Valbuena, who now plays for Greek side Olympiacos, was also not in attendance.

Benzema had been accused of helping the four other men blackmail Valbuena over an intimate video that had been taken from Valbuena's mobile phone.

The other four defendants were also found guilty.

Axel Angot received two years in prison, Mustapha Zouaoui received two years and six months in prison, Karim Zenati received 15 months in prison, and Younes Houass received an 18-month suspended sentence. (Sportsmax)

22

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

WI vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test…

West Indies crumble against spin in pursuit of 348 E

leven wickets - seven of them belonging to the visitors - fell on the fourth day of the Galle Test between Sri Lanka and the West Indies as the hosts inched closer towards victory.

Sri Lanka's spinners Ramesh Mendis and Lasith

Embuldeniya ran through the West Indies batting line-up to leave them reeling at 52 for 6 at stumps. They need a further 296 runs to win with just four wickets in hand.

Much like in the first innings, it was the loopy offspin of Mendis that did much of the damage, as he accounted for four

more West Indies wickets to take his match tally to seven.

Embuldeniya grabbed two, meanwhile.

Sri Lanka's spinners have so far been responsible for 15 of the 16 wickets taken in this match. Chief among the visitors' problems has been their inability to pick the straighter one that goes on with the arm. Sri Lanka spin coach Piyal Wijetunge had spoken

and shared a 123-run stand off 150 balls to help Sri Lanka set a target of 348.

Karunaratne once more top-scored for Sri Lanka with a 104-ball 83, in what was his sixth straight 50-plus score in Tests. He has crossed 50 seven times this year in seven Tests, and gone on to reach three figures five times, including a career-best 244 against Bangladesh in Pallekele in

ing in confidence after a circumspect start against some tight bowling from the spinners. Mathews, at the other end, also looked comfortable, a late cut past the backward point was the highlight of his innings.

West Indies might have had more wickets had it not been for some uncertain decision making. After an ill-advised early review against Karunaratne - he was rapped on the pads outside off stump not offering a stroke, but replays confirmed the ball was missing the stumps by a considerable margin - West Indies became extremely hesitant

Had those dismissals - the Karunaratne one, in particular - gone in favour of the visitors, things might have been different. But as it stands, only rain or an unlikely rearguard stand in the way of a Sri Lanka win.

Earlier in the morning, it took just over 15 minutes for Sri Lanka to claim the final West Indies wicket and secure a healthy first-innings lead. Following a rain-delayed start, Sri Lanka picked up the second new ball first thing, and went on the offensive against Da Silva and Gabriel with the spin duo of Lasith Embuldeniya and Praveen Jayawickrama.

Angelo Mathews and Dimuth Karunaratne shared a 123-run stand

SCOREBOARD SRI LANKA 2ND INNINGS Pathum Nissanka c sub (SD Hope) b Cornwall 3 Dimuth Karunaratne (c) c Blackwood b Cornwall 83 Oshada Fernando lbw b Warrican 14 Angelo Mathews not out 69 Dhananjaya de Silva c&b Warrican 1 Dinesh Chandimal † not out 10 Extras (b 8, lb 2, nb 1) 11 TOTAL (40.5 Ov, RR: 4.67) 191/4 Did not bat: Ramesh Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Lasith Embuldeniya, Praveen Jayawickrama Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Pathum Nissanka, 2.3 ov), 2-39 (Oshada Fernando, 11.5 ov), 3-162 (Dimuth Karunaratne, 36.4 ov), 4-163 (Dhananjaya de Silva, 37.6 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Rahkeem Cornwall 15.5-0-60-2 Jason Holder 5-0-19-0 Roston Chase 6-1-28-0 Jomel Warrican 9-1-42-2 Shannon Gabriel 4-0-23-0 Kraigg Brathwaite 1-0-9-0

WEST INDIES 2ND INNINGS (TARGET: 348 RUNS) Kraigg Brathwaite (c)lbw b Mendis 0 Jermaine Blackwood c Mathews b Embuldeniya 9 Nkrumah Bonner not out 18 Shai Hope b Mendis 3 Roston Chase b Embuldeniya 1 Kyle Mayers lbw b Mendis 2 Jason Holder b Mendis 0 Joshua Da Silva † not out 15 Extras (lb 4) 4 TOTAL (25.3 Ov, RR: 2.03) 52/6 Yet to bat: Jeremy Solozano, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jomel Warrican, Shannon Gabriel Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Kraigg Brathwaite, 3.4 ov), 2-11 (Jermaine Blackwood, 6.4 ov), 3-14 (Shai Hope, 9.1 ov), 4-15 (Roston Chase, 10.2 ov), 5-18 (Kyle Mayers, 11.3 ov), 6-18 (Jason Holder, 11.4 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Lasith Embuldeniya 10-3-18-2 Ramesh Mendis 11-1-17-4 Praveen Jayawickrama 4-2-8-0 Dhananjaya de Silva 0.3-0-5-0

Jason Holder is clean bowled

of the lack of control shown by his spinners after the end of play on the third day; he would have been much happier with their showing the following day.

Shai Hope, Roston Chase, Kyle Mayers and Jason Holder were all done in with the Sri Lanka spinners' straighter variant, with Mendis accounting for three of them. Aside from Mayers, who left one from Mendis that darted in to trap him plumb in front of the middle stump, the other three were all castled one way or the other.

The speed and nature of the collapse - they were 18 for 6 in 13 overs - was in sharp contrast to the ease with which Sri Lanka's batters played West Indies' spinners earlier. Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews both notched up half-centuries,

April. He, however, fell short of making back-to-back centuries in this Test, edging a cut off Rahkeem Cornwall that looped to first slip via the keeper's gloves.

Dhananjaya de Silva was the only other wicket to fall after lunch, when he offered a return catch to Jomel Warrican.

Warrican and Cornwall ended the innings with two wickets apiece, and West Indies now need to complete a record chase - the highest total successfully chased in Galle was the 268 Sri Lanka ran down against New Zealand in 2019 - or bat out a day, though rain is expected.

Sri Lanka's declaration followed a slog sweep for six

by Mathews, who remained unbeaten on 69 off 84 deliveries.

Karunaratne, in particular, looked in good nick, grow-

Ramesh Mendis picked up four wickets on the fourth day

to use DRS. This hurt them on two occasions. The first was a missed Oshada sweep that brought about a fervent appeal from wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva. The review remained unused, only for replays to show that Oshada may have got the faintest of touches.

While that didn't prove too costly, the next one very well might. Cornwall hit Karunaratne on the pads, but none of the West Indies players seemed confident enough to challenge the umpire's assertion that the ball had pitched outside leg. No review again, only for replays to show that the ball had indeed pitched in line and likely would have hit off stump.

First three rounds of Regional 4-Day set for February 2022 in Barbados

Of the two, Jayawickrama looked the more likely to pick up the last wicket, having beaten the outside edge of both batters numerous times, and he was rewarded in the end. Gabriel was trapped lbw after being caught flush on the toe by one that was well tossed up. Jayawickrama finished with the best figures of the innings: 4 for 40.

(ESPNcricinfo)

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Kensington Oval is regarded as the region’s Mecca

Guyana Jaguars will be without Raymon Reifer, who returned to Barbados Pride

C

ricket West Indies (CWI) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Johnny Grave has said the first three rounds of the Regional 4-Day tournament are set to bowl off in Barbados in February 2022.

Grave made this disclosure on the most recent Mason and Guest radio programme.

“The plan is for the West Indies 4-Day Championships

to restart in February, with teams hopefully travelling.

Playing three rounds would be three teams at home, and three teams would travel, and then reverse that for the second round. COVID-19 is still here amongst us, and we are not going to get ahead of ourselves”, he said.

“The current plan is that defending champions

Barbados will be playing at home in February, and that is based on the amount of cricket we got throughout the region,” Grave explained. He added that the current plan is that Windward Islands, Barbados and Jamaica would play at home; with Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago and the Leeward Islands travelling for the first three rounds, and then the other rounds would split Guyana, Trinidad, and either St Kitts or Antigua playing at home.

CWI Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams, had confirmed the restart of the 4-Day season earlier in the month, and five rounds are being proposed.

However, with the recent developments, more than five rounds would be possible.

“We have recommended that we start Four-Day cricket at the last week in January/ early February next year. It is desperately time for us to get Four-Day cricket in the region for more than one reason. At a minimum, we want to play at

VACANCY

Driver for water delivery canter on the East Coast Demerara. Call or whatsapp 680-3863.

least five rounds, which would be half of what we normally play; that is a starting point.

Ideally, I would love to get ten rounds of first-class cricket in, but starting with that,” Adams said in a recent Mason and Guest programme.

In March 2020, the pandemic brought the Four-Day Championship to a halt with two rounds remaining, and, as a result, Barbados Pride were declared the winners, thumping the Guyana Jaguars.

(Brandon Corlette)

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“DO YOUR BEST”

–DoS Ninvalle tells Pan Am Games-bound Guyanese athletes

Miguel Wong hoping to have better performance at Junior Pan Am Games

Miguel Wong

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Some of Guyana’s athletes for the Pan Am Games, beginning today

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rior to their departure for Colombia on Tuesday evening via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), the Pan Am-bound Guyanese athletes were given words of encouragement by Director of Sport (DoS), Steve Ninvalle, who left them with this charge: “Do your best.”

This contingent of Guyana’s young athletes will be competing in the first ever Junior Pan American Games to be held. Aside from the benefits they would receive from participating in the tournament, Ninvalle, in his optimism, is exploring ways how the NSC can contribute to their sporting future.

With 22 of Guyana’s most outstanding under-23 athletes slated to participate in the Games, the Director of Sport (DoS), Steve Ninvalle, has highlighted that the event is great for gauging the level of their individual performances.

“It’s a plus for us having a ‘junior’ team going out.

[In some sports,] Guyana has not had a local competition here since February 2020. All of these youngsters who will be going would not have had competition, some of them a little longer than that,” he explained.

“The Junior Pan Am Games is a very good gauge

for us to understand where we are now, both physically and mentally,” he said.

Asked what the National Sports Commission can do in the future to ensure that Guyana’s contingent is much larger, the DoS responded that the National Sports Academy would be a great boost.

Explaining the purpose of the National Sports Academy to Guyana Times Sport, Ninvalle said: “… and this is why we’re having that Sports Academy; this is all built to do that: to make sure that we have well prepared teams. And that is why we have the Elite Academy, whereby our elite athletes would be paid and they will have elite training. All of this goes into the national grid; it doesn’t go into any other grid but our national grid.

And that is why we have our nursery too, because we’ll have a prepared nursery so that, who knows, after maybe one year of our National Academy, we will be seeing a (surge) of development in sport,” he further reasoned.

Ninvalle went on to give encouraging words to the young Guyanese athletes, with expectations of great performances from them.

“I would like to tell the athletes that; and this is something that the Minister would’ve said just last week when we were in Skeldon:

‘No one is better than you!’

We have to start believing that, and if we believe anything else, then we’re starting on the wrong foot,” the DoS shared with a smile.

He added, “I would also want to let them know that you have over 750,000 persons rooting for (you), and just to give of your best; your best is what will be accepted by us. So, give of your best, remember Guyana, and make us proud.”

The Junior Pan American Games will begin today, Thursday November 25, and end on Sunday, December 5.

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(15 mins + 2 secs), while the senior tournament is ten minutes with two-second increments (10 mins + 2 secs).

Each tournament will be 7 rounds, with prizes awarded for the top three finishers.

The prizes up for grabs are: * 1st Prize: Gy$10,000 * 2nd Prize: Gy$8,000 * 3rd Prize: Gy$7,000 The cash will be delivered to the winner’s mmg+ wallet.

The tournaments will be hosted on the Tornelo. com platform, with National FIDE arbiters John Lee and Irshad Mohamad managing board pairings and supervising games.

Players interested in

or close to a month now, Miguel Wong has been in constant preparation at the Topspin Tischtennis Centre in Germany.

What has added to his preparation is his participation in the Senior Pan American Table Tennis Championships in Peru last week. In addition, he has been training with the Peruvian National Team which will also be heading to Cali for the Pan American Games.

As such Wong has been assiduously preparing for the Junior Pan Am Games.

Discussing his rigid preparation with this publication, Wong has said his preparation is well rounded. “I’m very excited, eager and humbled to be amongst the first Guyanese table tennis players to represent Guyana at these games. So far, my preparation is good, I’ve spent a little over three weeks in Germany at a high-performance camp in Munich, where I’ve been engaging in almost daily training with members and teams from all over Latin America and Europe,” Wong stated.

He added this about his preparation: “I’ve had the opportunity to train and spar with members from the other associations that are currently here in Lima, and this will help boost my preparation heading into the Games.”

The 21-year-old has told Guyana Times Sport that he has been able to grasp a lot from his Senior Pan Am outing, which has heightened his expectations for the Junior Games. “I expect a great showing on my behalf. I hope to put my best foot forward and try to reach as far as possible at the Games,” the table tennis player expressed. “(With) my experience from playing in the Senior Pan American Championships in Lima, I’ve been able to highlight and pinpoint certain areas of my game that I find need a bit more tuning, and pay a little bit more attention towards heading into the Cali Games,” he disclosed.

In concluding his discussion with Guyana Times Sport, Wong noted that he is proud of his recent showing, and is looking to get better at the next one. “It was a great experience to be at the Senior event here. I got to see the level that is needed to compete at these Senior events, and it was overall a great experience,” Wong said about the Senior Championships.

On a similar note, he continued, “I put my best foot forward; unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, I lost 4-2 to a player from Peru. But overall, I was happy with my performance, and now is just time to tighten a few minor aspects of my game as we prepare for Cali.”

Wong is part of a 22-athlete Guyanese delegation to the Junior Pan Am Games, which will begin today in Colombia. (Jemima Holmes)

LGC completes two back-to-back tournaments ...amidst planning annual Old Time Christmas Hamper

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lthough experiencing unfavourable weather, the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) was able to pull off two tournaments on the 13-20th November, 2021 - a full Stableford and a modified Stableford tournament.

The tournaments were sponsored by the Lusignan Golf Club, and saw a total of 45 persons participating.

Despite the rainy season scheduled for December to January, the Lusignan Golf Club continued to press on, despite whatever challenges it has faced. For the year 2021, it has hosted a successful string of events thus far. At one point, the course

GCF to host three MMG-sponsored chess tournaments this weekend he Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) will this weekend be hosting three online chess tournaments sponsored by Mobile Money Guyana Inc. Play begins this Saturday 27th November, 2021, with the mmg+ Online Rapid Female Tournament at 13:00 hrs.

The mmg+ Online Junior and Senior Rapid tournaments commence on the following day, Sunday 28th November, 2021 at 13:00 hrs.

The Junior Tournament will be open to all chess players under the age of 20.

Time controls for the Female and Junior tournaments are fifteen minutes, with two-second increments

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competing are invited to register on guyanachess. org.

The federation has been working with mmg+ for some years, and is pleased to have mmg+ come on board as a sponsor for this weekend’s events.

“We would also encourage everyone to sign up for the mmg+ Service. Mmg+ allows you to buy, shop, top up, send money and pay bills through your mmg+ account or a conveniently located mmg+ agent near you”.

For more information, please contact: Marcia Lee: 609-4116; Anand Raghunauth: 681- 8771; or Irshad Mohamed: 6641650.

Vijay Deo was the winner on November 13

Shanella London was the winner on November 20

Tom Watkins copped second and third in both competitions

was flooded, but the dedicated committee continued its hard work for the love of the sport.

The LGC has been able to pull off major tournaments such as the GTT Guyana Open and the MACORP Golf

tournament.

The results for the tournament on November 13 were as follows: * 1st: Vijay Deo * 2nd: Eureka Giddings * 3rd: Tom Watkins * 4th: Maurice Solomon

* Nearest to pin: Vijay Deo In the other competition, held on November 20, the winners were: * 1st: Shanella London * 2nd: Tom Watkins * 3rd: William Walker * Front nine: Mahesh Shivraj * Back nine: Shanella London * Nearest to pin: Jonathan Fernandes The club is also in the midst of planning its annual Old Time Christmas Hamper in its typical traditional way.

The club is asking its members to contribute a food, drink or gift item towards the hamper, which will be awarded as prizes for the first, second, third place and for gift exchange. Special prizes will also be awarded for nearest to the pin and whoever can get a hole in one.

The club is also asking everyone to bring their voices and join the LGC after the presentation for caroling, gift exchange, and refreshments all under strict COVID-19 protocols.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021

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

WI vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test…

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Miguel Wong hoping to have better performance at Junior Pan Am Games LGC completes two back “DO YOUR BEST” -to-back tournaments –DoS Ninvalle tells Pan Am Games-bound Guyanese athletes

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...amidst planning annual Old Time Christmas Hamper

Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle

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