Guyana Times - Thursday, October 13, 2022

Police request information from APNU/ AFC on 2020 voters’ fraud allegations

Following the request of the A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) for the Guyana Election Commission (GECOM) to forward its claims of illegal voters at the 2020 General and Regional Elections to the Police, the coalition is now being re quired to provide additional information, so the investi gation can move forward.

This was revealed by GECOM in a statement on Wednesday, in which it ex plained that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) now re quired the addresses of these voters that APNU/ AFC had claimed were ei ther dead or out of the juris diction and therefore, could not have voted in 2020.

GECOM explained that since it was the custodi an of the National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB) which contained personal information of all registrants, the Commission could not release such infor mation to the GPF owing to legal confidentiality issues.

“At the request of the APNU/AFC, the Chairperson of GECOM, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh on 28th September, 2022 forwarded to the GPF and the General Register Office (GRO), the informa

tion sent by the APNU+AFC in relation to allegations of voters’ impersonation during the 2020 General and Regional Elections. In this regard, the GPF has since requested that the ad dresses of the alleged per sons to be provided.”

“Accordingly, the Commission takes this op portunity to inform that its Chairperson, Justice Claudette Singh has since written to the Chief Scrutineer of APNU+AFC, Ms Carol Smith-Joseph requesting that the APNU+AFC provide the necessary information so that the GPF can commence its investigation into the al legations of voters’ imper sonation,” GECOM further

explained in its statement.

Hands tied GECOM noted that while it was committed to ensur ing that the concerns raised by the APNU/AFC are ade quately addressed and pri oritised, its position as the custodian of the NRRDB meant its hands were tied from providing the informa tion.

The APNU/AFC, through its Chief Scrutineer, had previously sent a letter to GECOM seeking an in vestigation into and pub lic disclosure of alleged vot er impersonation at the 2020 General and Regional Elections.

In the letter, the Opposition made a num

ber of demands when it comes to the probe into vot er fraud at the last elec tion. For one, it demand ed that all information on voter impersonation be for warded to the Police and the General Registration Officer. Additionally, it de manded that any verified re ports of voter impersonation be publicly released.

The coalition had also called for GECOM to do an internal probe into the mat ter, which it claimed the electoral body had discontin ued in 2020, as well as take steps to prevent any poten tial voter impersonation in the future.

However, GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj has already debunked this and noted that GECOM did convey all the names APNU/ AFC submitted to it, to the relevant authorities for ver ification. Moreover, Gunraj has pointed out the legal im possibility of GECOM doing investigations of its own.

Additionally, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC., has already asked the Police to investigate the docu ments of alleged voter fraud, which APNU had provided to GECOM after the March 2020 General and Regional Elections.

At a recent statutory meeting, GECOM had vot

ed to release these very doc uments, which had been requested by Nandlall to in vestigate Opposition claims of rigging at the 2020 elec tions, notwithstanding ef forts by the Oppositionnominated Commissioners to block this.

In a previous edition of his programme “Issues in the News”, Nandlall had point ed out that back in 2020, when APNU/AFC first made its erroneous claims, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) did investiga tions of its own. During its investigations, the PPP/C was able to find many of the persons that APNU/AFC claimed were out of the ju risdiction or dead.

In fact, at the time many

of those persons had come forward to protest against and dispute APNU/AFC’s claims. Guyana Times fea tured several such persons, who had been accused by the then ruling party of be ing either dead or out of the jurisdiction, when their vote was recorded.

During a previous Office of the Leader of the Opposition press confer ence, however, Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) and shadow Attorney General Roysdale Forde, SC, had admitted that some of the information the party had submitted to GECOM for verification, was, indeed, inaccurate. However, he had urged that all the informa tion be verified. (G3)

GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge

Thursday, October 13 –04:00h-05:30h and Friday, October 14

The Berbice Bridge

Thursday, October 13 –06:15h-07:45h and Friday, October 14 –

FERRY SCHEDULE

Parika

times

WEATHER TODAY

05:00h,

Guyana Govt writes Facebook, Twitter to remove posts with illegal maps of Guyana

closed

I

n light of a renewed disinformation cam paign being waged against Guyana by a num ber of Spanish-language so cial media accounts claim ing the country’s territory by publishing illegal maps, the Government of Guyana has written the heads of two major social media platforms – Facebook and Twitter – to have them re move such images.

According to the Department of Public Information (DPI) on Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud wrote to the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Parag Agrawal of Twitter, on this matter.

In his letters to the CEOs, Persaud highlight ed that those social media operatives have been util ising the Facebook and Twitter platforms, to prop agate a false narrative re garding the extant matter of the controversy between Guyana and Venezuela about the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award which

settled the land bound ary between Guyana and Venezuela.

“I wish to point out that Facebook (and Twitter) posts and the subsequent comments surrounding the particular posts have the potential to permanent ly damage relations be tween States, incite vio lence against the territory and people of Guyana, and derail the current adjudi cation of the matter before the International Court of Justice (ICJ),’’ the let ter by Guyana’s Foreign Secretary detailed.

Persaud went on to in form the heads of the so cial media platforms that the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela was settled by a legal pro cess of international arbi tration on October 3, 1899, pursuant to an 1897 Treaty of Washington by which both parties agreed to re spect the results of the ar

bitration as a full, perfect and final settlement of the boundary.

At that time, Guyana was British Guiana, a col ony of Great Britain. As re quired by the 1897 Treaty of Washington and the 1899 Arbitral Award, the boundary as determined by the Award was demar cated on the ground be tween 1900 and 1904 by Commissioners appointed by Britain and Venezuela.

On January 7, 1905, the official boundary map de lineating the boundary as awarded and demarcated, was drawn up and signed by the Commissioners of both Britain and Venezuela and promulgat ed in Georgetown, at the Combined Court.

Persaud added in the letter that the boundary and the corresponding ter ritory of Guyana are in ternationally recognised, including by the United Nations (UN).

“In this regard, I am re questing that these types of Facebook posts (and Twitter) which violate the

basic tenet of international relations between States, the sovereignty and ter ritorial integrity of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and incite a threat of use of force against Guyana, be removed forth with and more stringent measures be taken against their publications,’’ the Foreign Secretary’s letter urged.

President Dr Irfaan Ali, in remarks at the 77th UN plenary session last month, reaffirmed Guyana’s com mitment to peaceful pro cesses in resolving this matter and said it would deny every effort to depart from them.

However, these words seemed to have caused some unease in Venezuela, with the Spanish-speaking republic issuing a state ment on September 30 in which it repeated many of its spurious claims regard ing the border controversy.

Founder and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg

CEO of Twitter, Parag Agrawal

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

Alcohol abuse

Very often, there have been public debates and discussions on alcoholism and the negative effects it has on individuals and society as a whole. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), alcohol kills a whopping three million people worldwide each year — more than AIDS, violence, and road accidents combined. It was stated that men are particularly at risk.

WHO’s Global Status Reports on Alcohol and Health, over the years, have presented a comprehensive picture of alcohol consumption and the disease burden attributable to alcohol worldwide.

In the past, several letters to the Editor of this newspaper had expressed the view that alcohol is being promoted by some chutney singers in their songs. A few years back, Guyanese were being bombarded with “rum songs”, which featured characters who resorted to rum drinking to ‘end’ their sorrows. Some of these songs are still being featured at concerts and parties across the country.

One letter writer proffered that alcohol is considered to be a “downer” type of drug, so it should not be consumed if one is in a depressed state of mind. In essence, drinking while in a depressed state will certainly contribute to feelings of more depression and do more harm than good.

The negative effects of drinking too much alcohol can be divided into short-term and long-term effects. The short-term effects of drinking too much alcohol are: loss of judgment, loss of coordination, blurred vision, slurring of speech, and loss of balance. These negative effects can cause one to make bad decisions while being under the influence. The long-term effects include loss of brain cells, liver failure, stomach ulcers, high blood pressure, and certain types of cancer, epilepsy, nerve damage, and heart failure. If the abuse of alcohol does not cause immediate problems, then excessive use over a period of time can cause major problems down the line.

Further, alcoholism contributes to a range of social problems. For example, there has been an increase in cases of domestic and other forms of violence in our society. Official statistics show that one in four Guyanese women has been physically abused in a relationship. The increase in domestic violence has been blamed on several reasons, including children being socialised in a society that propagates violence and abuse of alcohol and drugs. While there are many solutions that have been previously put forward to protect our women and girls from experiencing the level of violence we see in our society today, what we know for sure is that there is no one solution, there needs to be a combination of ongoing measures with the involvement of Government, the Police, the Judiciary, religious bodies and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the communities as a whole to holistically address the problem.

In addition, research shows that alcoholism contributes to suicide, which has been, and continues to be, a major social problem in Guyana.

The effects of alcohol abuse are well known. Citizens should therefore be encouraged to make better judgment in every situation in the interest of one’s self, family and community, and ignore the messages that encourage rum drinking. While it is not our intention to place the blame for all our problems on alcohol, one cannot dispute the fact it is indeed a contributory factor to some of the social ills we face in our country today. There is therefore urgent need for all stakeholders to redouble their efforts and step up the campaign to spread more awareness and education about the dangers of alcohol abuse.

While the Government must play a crucial role in designing the relevant programmes and policies and putting in place the necessary legislative framework and other support mechanisms aimed at addressing the harmful use of alcohol, this burden must also be shared by other stakeholders, such as religious groups, the Private Sector, and NGOs, etc.

Let's work to give greater support to the elderly

By Wayne CampBell

Many

of us fear growing old, not because growing old is bad, but because of the discrimina tory practices in the society toward old er people. But ageing is inevitable.

The UN states that the novel coro navirus pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities, thus severely impacting the socio-economic, environ mental, health, and climate-related impacts on the lives of older people, es pecially older women, who constitute the majority of the elderly. While old er women continue to meaningfully contribute to their political, civil, eco nomic, social, and cultural lives, their contributions and experiences remain largely invisible and disregarded, lim ited by gender disadvantages accumu lated throughout the course of life. The intersection between discrimination based on age and gender compounds new and existing inequalities, includ ing negative stereotypes that combine ageism and sexism.

The 2022 theme for the United Nations International Day of Older Persons (UNIDOP), which is celebrat ed on October 1, is 'Resilience of Older Persons in a Changing World'. The day is set aside to pay attention to the par ticular needs and challenges faced by many older people. Among the areas of concern is the prevalence of pover ty among this subgroup. The theme serves as a reminder of the significant role older women play in traversing global challenges and contributing to their solutions with resilience and for titude.

Unfortunately, in many societies, there is an exclusion of sorts regarding the treatment of older people, especial ly women. Societies should recognise the critical contributions of older wom en, and promote the inclusion of their voices, perspectives, and needs in the creation of meaningful policies to en hance a holistic response to local, na tional, and global challenges and ca tastrophes. The need to embrace the voices of older women and showcase their resilience and contributions in so ciety is urgent.

The UN adds that there is a need to promote policy dialogues to enhance the protection of human rights and rec ognise their contributions to sustain

able development. A longer life brings with it opportunities, not only for older people and their families, but also for societies as a whole. Additional years provide the chance to pursue new ac tivities, such as further education, a new career, or a long-neglected pas sion. Older people also contribute in many ways to their families and com munities.

An older person is defined by the UN as a person who is over 60 years of age. The composition of the world pop ulation has changed dramatically in re cent decades. Between 1950 and 2010, life expectancy worldwide rose from 46 to 68 years. Globally, there were 703 million people aged 65 or over in 2019. The region of Eastern and SouthEastern Asia was home to the largest number of older people (261 million), followed by Europe and North America (over 200 million). Over the next three decades, the number of older people worldwide is projected to more than double, reaching more than 1.5 billion in 2050.

All regions will see an increase in the size of the older population between 2019 and 2050. The largest increase (312 million) is projected to occur in East and South-East Asia, growing from 261 million in 2019 to 573 mil lion in 2050. The fastest increase in the number of older people is expected in Northern Africa and Western Asia, increasing from 29 million in 2019 to 96 million in 2050. The second-fast est increase is projected for sub-Saha ran Africa, where the population aged 65 or over could grow from 32 million in 2019 to 101 million in 2050. By con trast, the increase is expected to be relatively small in Australia and New Zealand (84 per cent) and in Europe and North America (48 per cent), re gions where the population is already significantly older than in other parts of the world.

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) states that approximately 31.8 per cent of households in Jamaica have at least one member who is 60 years old or older. The PIOJ adds that elder ly people make up nine per cent of the population, and that total is expect ed to grow to 17 per cent by 2030. The National Council for Senior Citizens, a department in the Ministry of Labour

and Social Security, works in collabo ration with other stakeholders to im pact the National Policy for Senior Citizens.

Medical News Today defines ageism as prejudice or discrimination against people based on their age. It typically applies to people who are older, but can also affect young people. Ageism has a negative impact on physical and men tal health, and reports link it with ear lier death. Those of us who have now reached middle age have first-hand knowledge of how difficult promotions are after 50.

Retirement planning education is often an afterthought for many. Our churches should do more regarding the ministry of the elderly. Additionally, our education system needs an infu sion in the national curriculum to ex amine perspectives of the elderly and ageing in a changing world.

Unfortunately, many societies do not focus on providing services for old er people. The Government's Social Pension Programme for the elderly aged 75 years and older is commend able; however, more can be done to strengthen this social security safety net. One such measure is by adding a burial benefit to this programme. The elderly should have access to afford able medical care and housing. As the society moves towards digitalisation, many older people are being left be hind; this is concerning, and must be addressed. Every society should have a national senior citizen policy which clearly outlines the services the State offers, and how to access these ser vices by those who are especially most in need. The time to interrogate our skewed cultural mindset surrounding the elderly is now.

Let us also remember the caregiv ers who oftentimes are invisible he roes.

In order to achieve and maintain sustainable development, there needs to be an inclusive society where the voices of all, especially the elderly, can be heard and acted upon. We need to build a more caring and wholesome so ciety. (Jamaica Observer)

(Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an inter est in developmental policies as they af fect culture and/or gender issues)

A Muslim dervish whirls during celebrations for Mawlid al-Nabi that marks the birthday of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, in Peshawar, Pakistan (VOA)

Berbice Expo opens tomorrow

The Berbice Expo and Trade Fair opens tomorrow at the Albion Sports Complex af ter a hiatus resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The four-day event, which started in 2004, was held continuously until 2019. Over the past two years, the event was cancelled because of restrictions im posed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, on Wednesday, when this publication visited the Albion Sports Complex, almost all of the arrange ments had been put in place for the expo. The expo, which is being hosted by the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce, is themed “Advancing food security through agricul

tural sustainability and in novation.”

President Dr Irfaan Ali is slated to deliver the fea ture address at the official opening on Friday. The arena has already been transformed into an exhi bition site.

On Wednesday evening exhibitors were putting the final touches to their booths.

Organising committee member Poonai Bhigroog told this publication that the Expo has been sold out in terms of exhibitors.

“We cannot take more exhibitors. Patrons can look forward for an excit ing Berbice Expo this year. You will be seeing many companies that have never been here before.”

He explained that new

arrangements have been put in place for this edition of the Expo.

“This year it is differ ent. In the eastern side of the ground, we have booths that were never there at

any of the Expos before. Those are some prefab booths that the Ministry of Agriculture is setting up. We have people from Suriname coming, and many others that were

Guyana Govt writes Facebook, Twitter...

Subsequently, there were a series of posts by a number of Spanish-language social media accounts with illegal maps annexing more than two-thirds of Guyana’s land mass, which is in Essequibo, and a portion of the country’s Exclusive Economic zone (EEZ) in which almost 11 bil lion barrels of oil have been discovered over the past sev en years and oil production activities have been ongo ing – a claim that was first sparked by Caracas back in May 2015 after Guyana first announced the discovery of crude offshore.

In response to this re newed claim, President Ali, along with many oth er Government officials as well as Guyanese citizens last week embarked on a widespread social media campaign, sharing a map of Guyana to declare that ev erything within the coun try’s border was “we own”.

Back in 2018, Guyana ap proached the ICJ seeking a final and binding judgement

to reinforce that the 1899 Arbitral Award remains val id and binding on all parties as well as legal affirmation that Guyana’s Essequibo re gion, which contains much of the country’s natural re sources, belongs to Guyana and not Venezuela.

Guyana moved to the World Court after the failed good offices process between the two South American neighbours. The Spanishspeaking nation had initially refused to participate in the proceedings and had even challenged the court’s juris diction to hear the matter.

But on December 18, 2020, the ICJ established that it had jurisdiction to hear the substantive case – some thing which Venezuela did not accept.

Then in March of this year, Guyana submitted its written arguments for its memorial to the ICJ, which was a requirement by the court following its December 2020 decision.

Venezuela has since filed

Is there more to this than is presently known?

Beterverwagting/ Triumph Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) has admitted it could not sell what it did not own; but it was doing exactly that, and now it wants out, but getting out is not so easy.

the company made a down payment, but sub sequently distanced itself when certain revelations of other owners came to light in the land sale saga.

efforts by the sell er to walk away from, and turn its back on, this sordid

matter have suddenly tak en a twist, with refusal by the company to accept re fund of down payment and transferal of interest to an other company by the orig inal buyer. A third player has joined the foray, and has resorted to the court to determine and protect its interests.

Sounds like a plot out of a John Grisham novel. Is there more to this than is presently known?

Sincerely, Shamshun Mohamed

an objection, which, accord ing to the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry, is nothing more than a bid to delay the sub stantial hearing of the 1899 Arbitral Award case before the ICJ, after refusing to join the proceedings since 2018.

Various countries and international organisations have already thrown their support behind the judicial settlement of the case.

In fact, only last week, United States Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs,

Ambassador Brian A Nichols, in a tweet, reaf firmed his country’s sup port for a peaceful resolu tion between Guyana and Venezuela.

“The 1899 Arbitral Award determined the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela and should be respected unless or un til otherwise determined by a competent legal body. The US supports a peaceful reso lution to this issue,” the US State Department official said on his Twitter account. (G8)

never here before,” he said.

Security arrangements

Meanwhile, Divisional Police Commander, Senior Superintendent Shivpersaud Bacchus, is giving his assurance that not only will the arena be safe, but the Police will be providing protection from New Amsterdam to Corriverton on the nights of the Expo in terms of having escorts.

“Motorcyclists will be patrolling to ensure that persons who are leaving at late nights will be able to do so in a safe environ ment. We will also have roving traffic patrols on the roadway from Springlands to New Amsterdam to en sure persons get to their homes safely.”

He noted that persons from Region Five (Mahaica/ Berbice) who might be at tending the expo will be as

sisted with Police patrols up to the entrance of the Berbice River Bridge.

According to the Commander, there will be no crowding at either the eastern or western en trance to the Expo. “We would have done traffic management and taken a tour of the surrounding ar eas to ensure that the lo gistics and our human re sources are in place in order to mitigate any cir cumstance of built-up ve hicular traffic.”

As it relates to patrons, Bacchus said there will be officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and general duty ranks will be strategically locat ed both inside and out side of the Albion Sports Complex.

“This will ensure that those who may want to commit an office are ap prehended even before, be cause those persons in ci vilian clothing would be on the lookout for them.”

Bacchus noted that the Community Policing Group and the Neighbourhood Police are on board, and they will be backed up by a private security service.

Apart from security, the Police will be having a booth which, according to the Commander, will be providing education on the Police Force. He added that the Police booth will also have items on sale, and he is urging persons to support them. (G4)

Page Foundation

Sooner or later, the life of every living thing comes to an end. But life itself is never-end ing. Take a close look at a fallen tree, and you’ll see.

Solid figures

A solid figure is a figure that has 3 dimensions. These are some common solid figures:

Here are some terms that are used to describe solid figures:

Face: The flat surface of a solid figure. Each face looks like a 2-dimen sional figure.

Edge: The line where two faces meet.

Vertex of a solid: A specific point at which more than two faces meet, or a point where a curve begins.

Base: The face on the bottom of a solid figure.

Example: Exercises: Identify the correct solid

Look at the solid figures on this page.

A cube and a rectangular solid have 6 faces each. Any of the faces can be the base.

A square pyramid has five faces. The base is square and the other 4 faces are rectan gular.

A cone has a circular base and 1 vertex. A cylinder has 2 circular faces and no vertex.

A triangular pyramid has a triangular base, 4 vertices, 4 faces and 6 edges.

A sphere has no base, ver tices, faces or edges. It is a fi gure with a curved surface; all points on the surface are equal distance from the centre.

What you do

Pack a kit that includes a journal or sketch pad, pencil, field guide, magnifying glass, and maybe a camera.

Take a walk in the woods with family or friends. (Let an adult know where you are going.)

When you find a log, imagine what might have caused the tree to fall, and when.

Touch the log. Is it moist or dry, soft or hard? Knock on it. Does it sound solid or hollow?

What do you see on, around, and under the log? Look for plants, lichens, and fungi. Also look for animals or their signs, such as empty seed shells or nut husks, fur or feathers, tracks or scat (animal poop).

Peel back some bark to see what’s un derneath. Check for holes or tunnels in the wood. If you can roll the log to check underneath, be sure to carefully move it back in place.

Record what you find by sketching it or taking photos.

Visit again in different seasons and

By The BroThers GrimmCONTINUED FROM WEDNESDAY

in following years to look for changes. (rangerrick. org)

Keith George appointed Guyana’s new High Commissioner to Canada

Ambassador to Suriname already identified – Foreign Secretary

Guyana’s Ambassador to Suriname, Keith George has been des ignated for a new post ing as Guyana’s High Commissioner to Canada, a posting that the diplomat is expected to take up with in days.

This was confirmed to Guyana Times by Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud. Additionally, he said that a successor for George in Suriname has already been identified.

George’s diplomat ic career span over 29 years. He has worked in the Technical Cooperation and Political Departments of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. He was once the Director of the Frontier Department.

George’s posting comes just weeks after he was summoned to a meet ing with the Surinamese Foreign Minister, Krishna

Mathoera, regarding crit icism from officials in Guyana of Suriname’s fail ure to grant fishing licenc es to Guyanese fishermen which has been a topical is

sue in recent times.

Email correspon dence sent from high of ficials in the Surinamese Government to their Guyanese counterparts

GOGEC signs MoU with Nigerian petroleum association

show that at one point Suriname had promised Guyana that the fishing licences for Guyanese to fish in Surinamese waters would have been issued on January 1, 2021.

Sewdien, while also sug gesting various actions that should be taken to complete the process of is suing the licences, under Surinamese law.

These suggestions in cluded having the fisher men register their vessels in their own name and the appointment of a Stateowned company to be their business partner and sign a “vesselbasing” agreement.

Meanwhile, Sewdien had also promised to track down the Surinamese mid dlemen who had been rent ing licences to Guyanese fishermen, at exorbitant prices. In the email, he asked Mustapha to have the fishermen mail copies of their licences.

Chandrikaprashad Santokhi, the two leaders had issued a joint press statement indicating that the age-old issue of licences for Guyanese fisherfolk to operate in Suriname’s ter ritorial waters would be ad dressed.

These fishermen oper ate from the Corentyne Coast and have to use the Corentyne River to gain ac cess to the Atlantic where they get most of their catch. The Corentyne River is con sidered Surinamese territo ry. Currently, the licences are issued to Surinamese businessmen at US$100 per year and rented to the Guyanese fisherfolk at US$3000 annually.

The Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) to facilitate a col laboration that would lead to an exchange of informa tion and sharing of resourc es between the two parties within the oil and gas sec tor.

This MoU was initiated in Houston, Texas during the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC 2022) and was recently consummat ed by GOGEC President Manniram Prashad and PETAN Executive Chairman Nik Odinuwe, ac companied by PETAN Vice Chairman Ranti Omole.

PETAN signed the MoU at the Pegasus Hotel during a visit to Guyana last week

to finalise the document. According to a statement, PETAN’s aim is to bring to gether Nigerian oil and gas entrepreneurs to create a forum for the exchange of ideas with major operators and policymakers.

Meanwhile, GOGEC’s mission is to ensure that there are equal opportu nities for all the opera tors and potential opera tors within the industry and promote trade, invest ment and knowledge trans fer within the energy sector to all members and stake holders.

Nigeria is the largest oil and gas producer in Africa. As of 2020, the country had the largest oil and gas re serve in the African region, with around 37 million bar rels of crude oil and 5.5 bil lion cubic meters of gas.

It was only last month

that in keeping with Guyana’s continued abili ty to attract investor inter est, a group of African in vestors held meetings with President Dr Irfaan Ali and the Cabinet, where invest ment opportunities in a number of areas were dis cussed.

The meeting with the delegation, led by Benedict Peters, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nigeria’s largest oil pro duction firm – Aiteo Group – took place at State House and featured a number of Government Ministers.

According to a state ment from the Office of the President, the discussions “centred on business oppor tunities in Guyana in agri culture with a focus on sug ar, rice, and aquaculture; natural resources, specifi cally in mining, onshore ex ploration, and a refinery; and housing development”.

President Ali was joined by the Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibil ity for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh; Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd and Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha.

Also present were Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat and Director of Projects at the Office of the President, Marcia Nadir-Sharma. (G3)

In the email dat ed December 13, 2020, which was seen by this publication, Suriname’s Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Prahlad Sewdien had writ ten to Guyana’s Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, informing him that the fishing licenc es would be issued from January 1 of the next year and that they would try to have preparations complet ed within two weeks.

The email also acknowl edged the list of fishermen that Mustapha had sent to

“With that, it will be easier for us to trace the middlemen. These middle men have registered the boats on their own names in the Fisheries Register at our Maritime Authority. We will have to get it changed,” Sewdien also said in the email.

In the past, the Surinamese Opposition has pushed the Government for clarity on the issuance of licences to Guyanese fishermen. It is under stood that the issue was raised by Opposition Parliamentarian Melvin Bouva, in the Suriname National Assembly, on Tuesday.

Following a high-level meeting in Guyana during August 2021 between President Dr Irfaan Ali and Surinamese President

About 150 boats oper ate from the Number 66 Fisherman’s Co-op Society thus providing direct em ployment for about 800 fish ermen. Additionally, some 200 persons are employed in providing services which include transportation, fish vending, and repairs to ma chinery and equipment.

Guyana has already said that it would be bring ing this matter before the Caribbean Community (Caricom), since Suriname is also a member state. And comments by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo that Surinamese busi nesses could be met with reciprocal treatment in Guyana, were met by the Surinamese Government pleading in a statement for all parties to await a diplo matic resolution of the is sue. (G3)

High Commissioner (Designate) for Guyana to Canada, Keith George during a courtesy call on Prime Minister, Brigadier (Retired) Mark Phillips on Wednesday

From left: PETAN Vice Chair Ranti Omole, GOGEC President Manniram Prashad and PETAN Chairman Nik C Odinuwe

…expected to promote trade & knowledge transfer in energy sector

Man jailed for killing former top cop’s brother

A20-year-old man who was charged for the 2017 murder of Hemant Persaud, brother of former Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, and who has pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaugh ter, has been jailed for 12 years.

This offender was charged back in 2017, when he was a juvenile, and due to certain provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, his photograph, name, and oth er particulars cannot be published. The custodial sentence was imposed on him on Tuesday when he appeared before Demerara High Court Judge Sandil Kissoon.

The charge detailed that on February 19, 2017, the juvenile, then 15, unlawful ly killed 51-year-old Hemant Persaud, otherwise known as “Bhim”, of Affiance Village, Essequibo Coast, during the course/further ance of a robbery.

The offender’s sentenc ing hearing was held on Tuesday.

After considering a pro bation report in favour of the offender, an impact state ment from the dead man’s relatives, and addresses from the defence and prose cution, Justice Kissoon sen tenced the offender to 12 years in prison, less time spent in pre-trial detention. He had been on remand

since March 2017.

It has further been or dered that the offender be placed on probation and su pervision for three years af ter his release from prison, during which time he shall keep the peace, be of good behaviour, and report to the Chief Probation Officer.

The offender has also been ordered to enroll at the Government Technical Institute or the Guyana Industrial Training Centre to complete a course in elec trical installation.

The Judge has ordered that a report on his atten dance and progress be sub mitted to him every three months. If he fails to com ply with any of the court’s orders, he would be arrested and remanded to prison for

an additional 24 months. In sentencing the young man, the Judge relied on the sen tencing guidelines in the Juvenile Justice Act.

Hemant Persaud had re portedly just returned from the interior, and was pur chasing items from a ven dor. The then teen trailed him to the back of the Stabroek Market with in tent to rob him. He walked up to Hemant Persaud and demanded that he hand over a gold chain he was wearing, and when Hemant Persaud refused, he stabbed him in the chest and confiscat ed the chain before making good his escape.

Public-spirited citizens had rushed the injured man to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Admission

Arrested on March 3, 2017 at his home at Sophia, Greater Georgetown, in the presence of his family mem bers and Police officers, the offender had allegedly ad mitted to committing the crime.

The body of Hemant Persaud had remained un identified for approximate ly two weeks at the GPHC mortuary, as his family had believed he was still in the interior. But when the Police released information seek

ing the public’s assistance to identify the deceased, the identity of Hemant Persaud was established. His cause of death was given as per foration of the heart due to stab wounds.

Prosecutor State Counsel Muntaz Ali had revealed that the 20-year-old man, in his confession statement to the Police, had said, “I roll up on he [Hemant Persaud], I stick he up and tell he pass the chain, and he start scramble on on me. He pick up a barrier and run into me, and I ran up to he, pull off the chain, and juk he with the knife…”

According to Prosecutor Ali, the man gave the con fession in the presence of his mother, and he was also pos itively identified in an iden tification parade held at the Police station.

Asked by Justice Kissoon at a prior hearing if he had anything to say before be ing sentenced, the confessed killer said, “I was young, and lacked guidance. I would like an opportunity to con tinue my efforts and contrib ute meaningfully to society, and further my studies…”

In closing his remarks, the offender had begged the court for mercy and lenien cy, and had expressed that he would like a chance to “correct my wrong”. He was represented by Attorneyat-Law Alaira MurphyGoodman. (G1)

Essequibo Coast men charged for ganja possession

Two labourers have been charged sepa rately for possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.

The charge against Avinash Persaud, 28, of Perseverance, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) states that he was found with 2.1 grams of cannabis.

When he appeared at the Suddie Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Dylon Bess, he pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $30,000 and ordered to per form 50 hours of communi ty service before the end of November 2022. The service is to be performed at the

Suddie Police Station and Suddie Magistrate’s Court compound. If he does not perform the community ser vice, the default sentence of six months’ imprisonment would apply.

Ravi Patrick, 41, of Charity Housing Scheme, Essequibo Coast has also been charged for possession of narcotics. It is alleged that he had 10. 8 grams of cannabis in his possession. He also appeared before Magistrate Bess, but pleaded not guilty to the charge and was placed on $30,000 bail. His case, ad journed to October 14, has been transferred before the Charity Magistrate.

Rising...

…China

They say that “nothing succeeds like success”. And by this yardstick, who’d argue that China has proven this beyond any shadow of a doubt in the last half century? From being the poster child for poverty in the sixties, it’s poised to overtake the US as the largest economy!! And is also capable of space exploration; delivering atomic missiles across continents; creating its own new “silk routes” to Europe, Africa, and the rest of the world, to deliver its services and manufactured goods!! While stiffing the West’s insistence on democratic governance as the quid pro quo for being accepted in the “comity of nations”. Imagine that!!

After WWII, the US figured that with the sun having set on the British Empire, as the inheritor, the threat was the USSR and their “ungodly” communism! Even though Communist China had challenged them during the 1950 Korean War, they single-mindedly worked to bring down the USSR - by 1989.

Meanwhile, during the 60s and 70s, Mao had exhausted China after his communist party takeover, followed by his cultural revolution and “great leap forward” – which ended as a “great fall backwards!” His successors, led by Deng Xiaoping, reversed course from the blind ideological communist dogma, and accepted Deng’s aphorism: “It doesn’t matter whether the cat is black or white, once it catches the mice”!! And so, the “capitalist” cat was accepted to catch the development mice!!

You gotta do what you gotta do to deliver what you’re looking for – in this case, a modern economy and higher standards of living! Your Eyewitness had always wondered why the Russians (and Burnham) had never heeded Marx’s point that you gotta produce first BEFORE you start distributing - and Capitalism’s the most efficient method to increase production!! And so, the logic of Western capitalism – led by the US after they recognised China in 1972 – kicked in.

That logic insisted that you produce goods where it was cheapest. The US business class accepted the new, pragmatic China as an inexhaustible reservoir of cheap labour, where their profits would skyrocket!! China became America’s –and then Europe’s – factory; churning out trillions of dollars of manufactured goods to stock the shelves of the West’s insatiable consumers. Owning the new world’s currency, all America had to do was print greenbacks that flowed to China as debt - whether as T-Bills or whatever. Soon China had over US$1 trillion and Euro 1trillion in debt - which it uses to finance its new Silk Road – the Belt and Road Initiative!!

So now China’s poised to challenge the US for global hegemony – forget Thucydides going on about Sparta and Athens, our folk wisdom advises that “two man crab cyan live in the same hole”! The latter, however, for whatever reason – historical inertia? - has now evidently decided to take out Russia.

For a mano-a-mano with China??

…Xi

In all power contests and contestations – whether personal or international - leadership is as critical as the resources of power in the hands of the contestants!! So, what’s the state of the leadership of the US versus that of China?? In the former (red, white and blue) corner, we have Joe Biden with elections due in Nov 2024, and in the (red) corner we have Xi Jinping, arguably the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong in the 1970s!!

He's been at the helm since 2012 and - after abolishing the two-term limit in 2018 - is poised to be elected for life at the next Congress of the Communist Party this Sunday!!

Right now, he’s General Secretary of the Party; President, Head of State, and Commander of the armed forces. For good measure, he’s also referred to as “Supreme Leader”!!

The “Thought of Xi Jinping” was inserted in the constitution, and will soon be taught in all schools.

…PPP

In democracies, the goal of political parties is to garner as many votes as they can. Incumbents always have an advantage, because they can initiate policies (honeytraps?) to attract such votes.

All is fair in love and politics!!

…“I was young, and lacked guidance” – convict tells Judge

Dead: Hemant Persaud

Charged: Avinash Persaud

Charged: Ravi Patrick

$362.4M contract signed for solar farm at Mahdia

A$362.4 million Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) funded contract has been signed for a solar farm at Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) that will benefit close to 3000 resi dents and significantly re duce the State’s expendi ture on heavy fuel oil.

The signing was done be fore Prime Minister, Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips, be tween Aundrea Cambridge, the General Manager of Standby Power Engineering Company (SPECOM), the company that will be build ing the project, and Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) Head, Dr Mahender Sharma. Dr Sharma explained what the project, which would benefit a total of 2884 persons, set out to do:

“So, in terms of how it benefits, it benefits those consumers. There are about 720 consumers connected to the Mahdia power com pany and those consumers will benefit from the ener gy placed on that mini grid from solar. It influences cost in a big way. Because the cost is currently subsi dised.

“So, we’re not paying the true, actual cost of the elec tricity. So, this will serve to reduce the cost impact on that. The utility has its own separate function and will have to make a deci sion on how it pays the tar iffs. That’s not our job. Our job is to help them to reduce their cost and utilise renew able energy.”

He said that so far, they have completed nine mini solar grids and they expect ed to complete a further 19 grids by year end. There is also the 1.5-megawatt (MW) Bartica solar farm, which will cost $625 million and will soon be completed.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister underscored the importance of the project, which is expected to be com pleted by next year. The project is also significant in moving Guyana closer to its renewable energy goals, as outlined in the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.

“This is an import ant project because a lot of people talk about bridg ing the digital divide. As a Government we’re commit ted to also bridging the en ergy divide. You hear a lot about development on the coastland. But we’re also committed to bring develop ment to the hinterland.

“And with this project, we’re providing electrici ty of a renewable form, to Mahdia. Now, in addition to bridging the digital divide, this falls neatly into our Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030,” Phillips said.

The IDB loan under which the 0.65MW Mahdia solar farm is being financed, falls under the Energy Matrix Diversification and Institutional Strengthening of the Department of Energy (EMISDE) programme.

SPECOM won the con tract for the design and construction of the so lar farm following an open tender process. According to General Manager Cambridge, the company has been in operation for 21 years and has done work on a number of other solar projects.

The GEA recently com missioned its first me

ga-scale solar farm at Lethem. The 1MW Solar farm was commissioned on August 5, 2022 and has since avoided the consump tion of some 72,711 litres of diesel or about 457 drums.

The 1.5MW solar farm at Bartica is expected to be commissioned during the last quarter of 2022.

In keeping with the coun try’s LCDS, Government’s programme between 2021 and 2022 would com plete the installation of so lar farms at Lethem and Bartica, 28 solar minigrids, and 29 off-grid loca tions, totalling 3.415MW of installed capacity, avoiding 3542 tons of carbon diox ide per year, and benefiting some 52,940 persons.

As part of the sustain able energy transition, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government has been advancing an en ergy mix of hydropower, natural gas, solar and wind, with the expectation that

this will lead to more than 500MW of newly-installed capacity. This expansion in installed capacity is geared towards addressing the an ticipated tripling in elec tricity demand.

Ultimately, these plans will diversify Guyana’s economy and decouple it from using fossil fuels for electricity by developing low-carbon energy resourc

es to meet rapidly-rising de mand and keep greenhouse gas emissions low. And these are plans that fall in line with LCDS 2030.

The LCDS 2030 vision has four components: 1) to manage water and other re sources properly; 2) adapt ing to climate change; 3) producing clean energy, and 4) aligning with global cli mate and biodiversity goals.

Prime Minister, Brigadier (Retired) Mark Phillips

SPECOM General Manager Aundrea Cambridge (left) watches on as GEA Head, Dr Mahender Sharma signs the contract

“A lot is expected of you” – Chief Justice to Crime Chief on admission to Bar …vows to use legal knowledge to enhance support for GPF’s successful prosecutions

Despitea series of challenges, Deputy Commissioner of Police – Law Enforcement, and Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, has achieved a childhood dream of becom ing an attorney-at-law, and now he plans to use his le gal knowledge to bolster the Guyana Police Force’s chanc es of securing successful prosecutions in the courts.

Blanhum, who, along with three other senior cops, recently graduated from the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago with his Legal Education Certificate (LEC), has been admitted to the Guyana Bar on Wednesday.

His petition was pre sented by his wife, Attorney Latchmie Rahamat, before Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George.

According to the Crime Chief, he is not only elated that he persevered to achieve

a childhood dream of becom ing a lawyer, but the occasion was made much more special as he was called to the Bar on the day his wife had also been called years ago.

The Head of the GPF’s Criminal Investigations

Deputy Commissioner – Law Enforcement, one of my du ties entails reviewing crime files, looking at the elements of defence to see whether the investigators were able to prove all the elements of defence before submitting

“…I’m a gladiator, so to speak, I do not give up… Every crisis, I try to look at the opportunity, and I always persevere. Being a Police Officer is not for the faint at heart” Crime Chief

Department (CID) said he in tends to use his legal knowl edge to strengthen the Police Force’s capability to support successful prosecutions in the judicial system.

“As Crime Chief, being an attorney-at-law, it’s go ing to benefit me tremen dously in my work. As the

the file to the Police Legal Advisor or to the Director of Public Prosecutions. So, this will definitely help in that re gard,” he said.

“And over the years since I started law school, I was very quick to learn the princi ples of law, and based on my knowledge and skills during

my training, I was able to impart that knowledge and skill (to) ranks, assist them in every way possible to en sure that we put forward a very good case to the court,” the Crime Chief posited.

Challenges

However, Blanhum out lined that getting to this point was not without chal lenges. He recalled being re moved, in the midst of his law studies at the University of Guyana, as Crime Chief and sent to Region One (BarimaWaini) as a Sub-Divisional

it was especially challenging to manage his law studies, which required a certain lev el of attendance in order to graduate, and being assigned to such a remote and distant location as Region One.

“I was absent from some of the classes, but I had some very good lecturers. They ex cused me from being absent from the classes, [and] I had some very good colleagues who assisted me with learn ing materials, and [I] was able to attend classes when ever I could. And also, I was able to write my examina

them know that every jour ney will not be smooth, you will encounter some road bumps, but perseverance is the key. You need to perse vere in order for you to suc ceed. And I’m the epitome of perseverance today,” he de clared.

A lot is expected

In fact, Blanhum received similar advice from the Chief Justice as she congratu lated him during his Bar Admission on Wednesday. While Justice George urged Blanhum to remain commit ted to excelling in his field, and lauded him for his han dling of matters thus far as a Police officer, she declared that much more would be ex pected of him now as an at torney-at-law.

Officer, and later becoming the Divisional Commander.

In fact, prior to that re-as signment, Blahnum, who was appointed CID Head in 2015, was demoted to Deputy Commander of ‘A’ Division in 2017, following a controver sial Commission of Inquiry into an alleged plot to as sassinate former President David Granger.

Blanhum’s demotion was heavily criticized, since his stint as Crime Chief re sulted in the reopening of many high-profile cases like the execution of fashion de signer Trevor Rose, and the 1993 murder case of Monica Reece.

However, he was reap pointed as Crime Chief back in 2020.

“To those individuals, I forgive them. I’m a gladia tor, so to speak, I do not give up… Every crisis I try to look at the opportunity, and I always persevere. Being a Police officer is not for the faint at heart,” Blanhum said when asked about his demotion and relocation.

He went on to note that

tions and I was very suc cessful at the LLB level. As you’re quite aware, I gradu ated with a distinction.”

Another major challenge in his journey to becoming a lawyer was the May 2022 fire at the CID Headquarters, which occurred as he was studying and preparing for his Criminal Practice and Procedure exam.

“I received that distress ing call that there was a fire there [at CID Headquarters], so I had to pack up my study ing notes and visited the scene, make an assessment, report to my superior, and then head back to start my examination,” he explained.

Encouraged others

Despite these challeng es, however, the Crime Chief used the opportunity to en courage other ranks in the Police Force to pursue higher academic goals, noting that perseverance is the key.

“I have always encour aged each and every one of my ranks to pursue their ac ademic journey, and I want to let each and every one of

“You are not just an offi cer [of the GPF], but you are an officer of the courts… A lot is expected of you. I have no doubt that you will live up to the high expectations not only that you set yourself by your career so far, but that the profession will require of you. I expect that honesty, integrity, frankness with the court will be the hallmarks of all that you do… You now are in a leadership position, not just as Crime Chief, you are in a leadership position as Attorney-at-Law; therefore, the Courts will expect a very high standard from you and the officers and ranks that you lead, because we know that you have the training and we now know that you have the expertise,” Chief Justice George stressed.

Blanhum’s Admission to the Bar was witnessed by family, close friends, and colleagues, includ ing Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken and other senior GPF ranks, as well as Public Service Minister Sonia Parag and officials from the Attorney General’s Chambers.

Only Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner–Administration, Calvin Brutus, along with Assistant Superintendent Delon Fraser were called to the Bar. A fourth cop, Assistant Superintendent Dominick Bess, is also slated to be called to the bar some time this week.

(L-R) Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, newly sworn-in Attorney Wendell Blanhum, his mother and his wife with their daughter

The courtroom was packed with colleagues, friends and relatives as Blanhum was called to the Bar on Wednesday

"Be Real" anti-body shaming campaign launched

To

coincide with International Day of the Girl Child, the Human Services and Social Security Ministry on Tuesday launched the "Be Real" anti-body shaming campaign.

The campaign has been developed by the young in fluencers of Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud’s Young Influencer Programme, with her guidance.

The objective of the cam paign is to bring awareness to the negative factors sur rounding the topic, and min imise body shaming though sensitisation sessions.

It aims at encouraging women to reject stereotypes and aesthetical violence - a reference to the social pres sure some women feel to conform to beauty ideals.

Minister Persaud, in her remarks at the launch ing, emphasised that body shaming is something that we should eradicate, should root out.

"We want girls to be con fident in their own skin. Too often, there (are) supposed role models out there, and everyone aspires to be like them, to look like them, and

to conform to some social identity that has been con structed, really not cater ing to the diversity of the world. We need to shatter those things, and we need to let girls know they are beau tiful exactly the way they are," the Minister said.

“You are beautiful be cause that beauty has been passed down from genera tion to generation…you are a pool of genes, you are a ge netic beauty…”, the Minister said.

As such, the Minister called on the general public to desist from body shaming. She said adults especially

should lead by example.

“Don’t comment on peo ple’s body type, their hair, their complexion, their men tal aptitude; don’t do those things, because those things leave serious scars. How do we expect women to look at themselves? And how do we empower them with confi dence to make them into adults who will take the world by storm?” she admon ished.

She said body shaming should not be done on so cial media, on the streets, in communities, in homes, and particularly not in schools.

“We should not allow our children to see themselves as a competitor or compar ison to another child, but as their own beautiful cre ation,” she urged.

Minister Persaud did not fail to explain that boys and men also suffer from body shaming, and this campaign includes them.

“I want this message to ring loud and clear across the country: we need to cre ate a kinder world and a gentler society, a safe space to allow people to grow and to develop…”, the Minister implored. (G9)

Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud

Local mutton producer eagerly awaiting arrival of more Black Belly sheep from Barbados

By Andrew CArmiChAel

The first batch of Black Belly sheep ar rived in Guyana from Barbados in August, and have already been distribut ed to farmers.

Other mutton producers are eagerly awaiting the ar rival of more sheep, as they anticipate great successes from this flagship project pi loted by President Dr Irfaan Ali.

One farmer from West Berbice, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) who ex pects to benefit from the arrival of the Black Belly sheep from Barbados, has found ways to use the ani mal to boost his mutton pro duction. He says he can have animals weighing 80 pounds within three months.

Lackan Ramlagan of Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice has already pre pared the pasture from which he would get grass to

feed the new stock of sheep he is expecting. Currently a member of the West Berbice Sheep and Goat Association, Ramlagan has about 200 sheep. He says he has been crossing the Black Belly breed with the Texanna, Dorpa and Katadyn breeds to get more meaty animals.

“With the crossing of the Black Belly with the Dorpa and the Texanna, you would have the meat on them. The

Texanna is the meat sheep, and when you cross it with the Black Belly, you get what you are looking for,” he said. Those animals, he said, drop twice annually, giving between one and two lambs on each occasion.

The Black Belly sheep that Ramlagan currently has are not pure breed ani mals, and he is hoping that those from Barbados will give better results when

crossed.

“Well, that would impact my flock very good, because the animals are full-bred an imals. You have to cut grass for them; you don’t loose them out in the pasture,” he said.

Ramlagan is very appre ciative that the Black belly Sheep Project was launched in Region Five, and is tar geting farmers of that re gion.

President Dr Irfaan Ali, during the launch of the flagship Black Belly Sheep Project at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice back in March, had said the proj ect is intended to pave the way for Guyana to tap into the region’s hefty food-im portation bill, which sees

slated for significant expan sion in order to produce at least 7,000 tonnes of mutton by the end of five years.

Secretary of the West

and the Texanna, and we can have a 70-80-pound an imal within three months,” she said.

This, the association’s secretary said, would be good enough for the mar ket. She said what the asso ciation is doing is trying to cut the cost associated with the importation of lamb into Guyana.

CARICOM countries collec tively spending some US$43 million on import of mut ton alone. And even though Guyana’s food production capabilities are impressive, the country still imports ap proximately US$130,000 worth of mutton.

US$3M investment

With an initial invest ment of US$3 million, Dr Ali said, the onset of the Black Belly Sheep Project targets 2,000 head of sheep, and is

Berbice Sheep and Goat Association, Debra Gopaul, said the Association is ea gerly looking forward for the arrival of the next batch of sheep.

“We have already con structed a grass plot because it is a zero-grazing project, and so, should Mr Ramlagan be a beneficiary from the project, it would enhance his business in terms of market ing. Within a three-month period, we would actually be able to have pure bred Black Belly crossed with a Dorpa

“If we could have the pure bread Dorpa ewe and ram, we would have more weight in three months. You can go to 100 pounds and over. Since we don’t have the pure-bred Dorpa in the country, we actually have a cross,” Gopaul explained adding that she is hop ing that most of the farm ers who are members of the Association would become beneficiaries of the Black Belly Sheep Project.

President Ali, at the launch of the project back in March, had pointed out that the world import val ue on mutton and mut ton products is US$8B. He said Bahamas, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago are the four major markets that Guyana can target.

Lackan Ramlagan and one of his Dorpa animals

Ramlagan pointing to the pasture where he would source grass for the new stock of Black Belly Sheep he is expecting

Some of Ramlagan’s sheep

$100M Business Incubator Center commissioned in Berbice

Tourism, Industry, and Commerce Minister

Oneidge Walrond on Tuesday re-commis sioned the Berbice Business Incubator Center, which was refurbished to the tune of $100 million.

The Business Incubator Center, situated at Belvedere Industrial Site, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) was ‘commissioned’ in February 2020 by the then Business Minister, Hemraj Rajkumar.

On Tuesday, Walrond re ferred to that ‘commission ing’ as being a farce, saying that Tuesday’s ceremony was the real launching.

“Because in February 2020, in another dispensa tion, there was a purported launching which was noth ing more than a farce, an attempt to fool Berbicians and the nation!” Minister Walrond said, adding that it was just a ceremony.

“The problem was that at that purported commis sioning, people attending could have only been shown pictures of what the centre could look like. There was no equipment, no furniture, no staff, no budget! In fact, there was nothing here but an empty building.”

She said that under the previous administration, there was a lack of politi cal will, a lack of strategic direction, a lack of insight, and a lack of concern for the people of this region.

“This lack of concern was why sugar estates in this region were abruptly closed, and more than 4000 Berbicians were placed on the breadline. We have

re-employed almost 2000 of these workers.”

Speaking of the Business Incubator Center, the Minister said it is ready for operation.

According to Minister Walrond, now the various pods have been outfitted with high-quality agro-pro cessing machinery which include production lines for coconut oil, teas, indigenous flours and packaged fruit products.

She said the equipment in the facility includes coco nut de-shelling and grinding machines, teabag packaging equipment, filling machines and a root tuber peeler for the washing and peeling of ground provisions.

The production line for indigenous flours includes a dehydrator and mill, which can also be used for the pro duction of dried seasonings.

Beyond the commission ing, she noted, the Ministry, through the Small Business Bureau, will continue to ex amine ways to expand the operations.

A warehouse facility is soon to be added, and more staff will be employed to fa cilitate.

According to Walrond, Region Six now has access to a top-class agro-process ing facility that allows small entrepreneurs to boost their production capacity.

“We have a comprehen sive plan for the social and economic development of these regions, both East and West Berbice. And I wish to assure you that your Government will continue to invest heavily in this region as we will in all regions, be cause we care for all of the citizens of our country… Berbicians should have ac cess to similar resources and opportunities as are avail able in Georgetown. So, too, should residents of Linden, Leonora, Bath, Bartica, Charity, Mahdia, Mabaruma, or any other community in our country.”

Meanwhile, Region Six Chairman David Armogan pointed one that, over the last couple of years, there

has been a renewed inter ested in business in Region Six. He said Government has recognised this and has since been organising pro grammes to assist small businesses, ensuring that persons who want to take advantage of this new devel opment are given the oppor tunity to do so.

Noting that many small businesses have been devel oping, Armogan referred to many of them as being ‘bot tom house’ businesses.

“What we call cottage in dustries.”

What is being done at the Business Incubator Center he referred to as being more

scientific.

Because of the incubator, young entrepreneurs; per sons who are interested in processing and developing their products, can have the opportunity to be exposed to new technological develop ments and new processing facilities.

“And in a way that is pleasing to the eye and that is easily marketable.”

The Chairman pointed out that packaging has been one of the big issues facing small manufacturers, not ing that what catches the eye of the consumer is the packaging and not necessar ily the taste.

“We produce almost on a daily basis under the cottage industry many good prod ucts, but unfortunately the

presentation of these prod ucts cannot be compared to the ones that we are import ing. That is what this busi ness incubator that has been established is intended to do – to be able to provide the technology and the opportu nity to help small business es that are growing and are involved in agro-processing and other different forms of producing goods that are for human consumption.”

Already a batch of twen ty small businesses are ben efitting from the facility, which include packaging, drying, bottling and label ling.

There is no charge to use the facility, and entrepre neurs are also learning to use the latest technology. (G4)

Fire station to be built at Wismar

The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) is getting ready to build a fire station in Wismar, Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) soon.

This was announced by Region 10’s Fire Commander, Courtney Springer.

Springer, in an interview with an other section of the local media, said that it was his hope that with the new stations the Linden Fire Service would be able to provide a rapid re sponse to any emergencies that arise.

“I am fighting, along with the per sonnel for Linden, extremely hard to get this fire station over the river. So far, we are at a phase of procure ment of the land; we have sent a bud get and hopefully next year, we will have a fire station over the river…”.

The fire commander said they are currently awaiting the funds to be approved for the commence ment of construction of the building. Commander Springer said that there have been 20 property fires in Linden for this year so far.

“It is important to have a fire sta tion over the river, we had five ve hicles and 15 buildings that caught fire for the year. That is reasonable for the year, because normally we would get more fires than that,” he explained.

He said for the past two years, firefighters in Linden have been working very hard to reduce the number of fires that usually occur yearly.

“Most of these fires occur over the river and by the time we get there, the building is being destroyed. This is most times because of the traffic congestion and the bridge, and by the time we reach the distance it takes to reach the scene of the fire, the build ing is destroyed”.

"The terrain and accessibility by the Fire Service is another issue; we find these things difficult…”, he ex plained.

Springer said they were also lob bying to see if they could get a fire boat and a hydraulic platform to boost fire-fighting in the region.

“At present, we have a new fire tender, making it now three that we have. But, the other two are not all that operable. It is like 50 to 60 per cent deficient…”, he said.

Just recently, the GFS commis sioned the Eccles Fire Station, which is located at Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara. The station was complet ed at a cost of approximately $37.8 million.

That fire station would provide fire and rescue services to persons living on the East Bank of Demerara from Agricola to Providence, and would lend support to residents of West Demerara.

Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn, during the launching, said that it was the intention of the Government to establish fire stations throughout the country with the ability to respond to the challenges of fire, search and rescue, along with security and safety. (G9)

Motor car plunges into Anna Regina trench after driver loses control

Anna Regina Market, the acci dent occurred at about 09:00h, as Samaroo’s vehicle was head ing north on the eastern road way while he was on his way to collect chicken to sell. Samaroo said his car encountered a me chanical problem that result ed in it becoming uncontrolla ble, and before plunging into the trench, his vehicle collided with a white Allion motor car, PPP 7038, and a white minibus, BVV 6446.

Punraj Samaroo of Richmond Housing Scheme on the Essequibo Coast in Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) escaped unhurt on Wednesday after losing control of the vehicle he was driving, black fielder wagon PAC 8342, and it plunged into a trench op posite the Anna Regina Post Office.

According to vendors at

Another car that was damaged

Guyana Fire Service eyes major developments in

Robeson Benn made the dis closure to media operatives on Wednesday, following a parade held by the GFS.

“We’re looking to final ly open new fire stations and the footprint in interi or areas. We’re looking for ward to the presence of new ambulance services on the coast and hopefully soon in particularly populated areas of the interior. And more training, better train ing, better engagement, and better awareness,” Minister Benn explained.

The Minister said there would be improved certifi cation of buildings and new industrial facilities.

Wickham said there have been major achievements in 2022, including training for staff responding to fires countrywide.

He said auxiliary groups have been established with in communities and this was “very, very good, be cause whilst we may take some time to reach the scene, these persons who are trained within those communities, they’ll be able to do first aid firefighting.”

The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) has a host of developments in the pipeline for 2023, ini tiatives that will improve its quality and service to Guyanese.

Among plans for the new year is the completion of the $648 million headquarters at Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown.

Home

He also noted that the workforce would be expand ed.

“We recently had a batch of 40 firemen and firewomen and 30 EMTs [Emergency Medical Technicians]. Two weeks ago, we graduated those persons, so they’re now in the service,” Minister Benn said.

Meanwhile, acting Chief Fire Officer Gregory

The Government allo cated $2.7 billion for the Fire Service in 2022. Some $158.3 million was expend ed in the first half of the year for the procurement of a hydraulic platform, water bowsers, and an all-terrain firefighting vehicle.

“The acquisition of fire fighting equipment and tools and fire tenders – the Government of Guyana, I must say, has been do ing a great job and very supportive to the Guyana Fire Service and so I want to applaud the extent of the support given by the

Government of Guyana, so that we’ll be able to car ry out our mandate, that is to protect life and proper ty from destruction by fire.

There were times when we just had one or two fire ten

ders around attending to fire; now, you’ll have in any turnout, you’ll have two, three, four – depends on the need,” Wickham expressed.

The parade was held in observance of Fire

Prevention Month 2022, which is being held under the theme, “Working togeth er as One Guyana to prevent fire.” The event was aimed at highlighting the services provided by the GFS. (DPI)

The car that became uncontrollable and plunged into the nearby trench

The minibus that was also involved in the accident

Region 10’s Fire Commander, Courtney Springer

$4.3M coconut nursery commissioned at Hosororo

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha on Wednesday commis sioned a new coconut seed ling nursery in Hosororo Village, Region One (BarimaWaini).

The nursery, which is located in the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) compound, was constructed and stocked at a cost of $4.3 million.

At full capacity, the nurs ery will be able to produce some 206,000 seedlings an nually.

In addition to the nurs ery, Minister Mustapha also commissioned several new pieces of equipment for NAREI’s spice processing fa cility. These pieces of equip ment, which include a ginger washer, ginger slicer, gin ger grinder, and a vibro sift er, were procured at a cost of $9,747,756.

While offering remarks at the event, Minister Mustapha said the construc

tion of the facility was part of the Government’s decentrali sation efforts for the agricul ture sector.

“Today is a great day for us. We are here to commis sion a new coconut nurs ery. We know many farmers in the region would usual ly travel to Georgetown to purchase quality seedlings. After consultation, we decid ed to have one constructed here so you can benefit from the same services the farm ers in Georgetown and other coastal areas receive. Having this facility here will not only reduce the cost of acquiring the planting materials you need, but it will also help us to increase our national pro duction figures. This is part of our coconut decentralisa tion programme,” Minister Mustapha said.

He noted that given the benefits of, and the growing demand for, coconuts and coconut by-products, farm ers in Guyana should get in volved in coconut production.

He said the Government was working to make the neces sary resources available to expand the industry.

“We all know the bene fits of coconuts. The world is also cognisant of the benefits of coconuts and all of their many uses. Anyone who is involved in this industry will benefit from several streams of income because of its many by-products. You can use co conut fibres, you can make oils, soaps, lotions, beauty supplies, pharmaceuticals, and cooking products, just to name a few. The coconut wa ter industry alone is estimat ed at $2.2 billion. We have to take advantage of the global demand. We have the land and we are making the ma terials and inputs available. We can tap into those mar kets,” the Minister said.

He also told farmers that following this year’s Agri Investment Forum and Expo, which was held back in May, many investors were now coming to Guyana to in

Bahamas announces minimum wage hike; price controls for chicken, eggs, bread

The Bahamas govern ment has announced an increase in the minimum wage as well as placing 38 new items under price control amid efforts to diversify the tourism-depen dent economy.

In a radio and televi sion broadcast on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the min imum wage would be in creased from US$210 to $260 a week, retroactive from the month of July for workers in the public service while workers in the pri vate sector will benefit from the change in January next year.

Davis said the time line is to give employers time to prepare for the increased ex pense.

“Nothing is more import ant that to helping families make ends meet than high er wages. The last time the minimum wage was raised in the country was 2015. A new increase has been long overdue,” Davis said.

“The higher minimum

wage would benefit tens of thousands of Bahamians. Will the increase help? Yes it will. It was long awaited, long overdue and the extra money every week will make a difference.

“However, we are aware that this will not elimi nate the hardship of trying to make ends meet in to day’s economy. Instead it represents progress on the way to a liveable wage. The

wage was negotiated by the National Tripartite Council, which includes the gov ernment, representatives from the private sector and unions,” Davis said.

During his near one-hour broadcast, Prime Minister Davis also disclosed that as Bahamians continue to grapple with the high cost of living compounded by in flation, 38 new items will be subject to price controls.

He said that this means that the government will limit the wholesale and re tail mark-up on items like diapers, and food including chicken, eggs, bread, banan as, apples, oranges, broccoli, onions, and potatoes.

He said these items are being added for at least a six-month period, following which the government will review and evaluate the im pact on businesses and con sumers. He said the profit margin on price-controlled drugs is also being reduced to provide additional relief to Bahamians.

vest, some of whom have ex pressed interest in investing in the production of spices.

While noting that ac cess to markets continued to be an issue in the Region, the Minister said that the Government, through the New Guyana Marketing Corporation, has been suc cessful in finding markets for farmers in other remote parts of the country. While assuring farmers that issues with access to markets would now be a thing of the past, Minister Mustapha told the farmers that the Government was currently engaging

Caricom Member States to remove the non-tariff barri ers to many of Guyana’s tra ditional products.

The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) Representative in Guyana, Juman Kundun noted that the demand for coconut was constantly in creasing in the Region and globally. Furthermore, the CARDI rep said that Guyana was among three of the ma jor coconut-producing coun tries in the Region –produc ing some 20 per cent of its supply while the Dominican

Republic produces some 59 per cent and Jamaica some 12 per cent.

With that said, Kundun lauded the Government’s ef forts towards expanding the industry, adding that initia tives like this would enable Guyana to go beyond its cur rent production levels.

General Manager of Hope Estate, Ricky Roopchand indicated that the facili ty would be able to service the Region’s demand and that the first set of seed lings would be available for purchase by the end of December. (DPI)

Piarco’s radar system was down during near collision

T

he Air Traffic Control Radar system at the Piarco International Airport was inoperative when the pilot of a JetBlue Airways aircraft was forced to take evasive action to pre vent a possible collision with a Caribbean Airlines air craft on Sunday.

This was confirmed by the Director General of the T&T Civil Aviation Authority Francis Regis in an emailed response to Guardian Media yesterday.

On Sunday, JetBlue flight 1817 was flying at 4,150 feet in an easterly direction over the Gulf of Paria on its final approach to Piarco at 12.34 pm, when it informed the tower that Caribbean Airlines flight 521 was on a trajectory to cross its path at nearly the same altitude.

“The TTCAA confirms that there was a traffic inci dent which is being investi gated by the TTCAA,” Regis stated.

With incidents like the near collision, an investi gation is launched to deter mine the root cause and to make recommendations to prevent a recurrence.

“We further confirm that the radar system was out of service at the time of the in cident,” he stated.

Guardian Media was in formed by a source with knowledge of the situation that the radar has been in operative for a few weeks now, as it requires a part from the Italian manufac turer to become operational.

The radar system was

purchased with a package of recommended spare parts.

Regis yesterday said that despite the issues with the radar, air traffic controllers have the situation under control.

“The TTCAA wishes to assure you and the public that all air traffic controllers are trained and qualified to provide safe and reliable air navigation services in the absence of radar equip ment,” Regis stated.

Aviation expert Ramesh Lutchmedial yesterday ex plained to Guardian Media what transpires in the case of a radar being non-func tional.

“They resort to Procedural Air Traffic Control. With this method, the pilots report their GPS position, heading and alti

tude via two-way radio to the controller who records it on a strip,” Lutchmedial stated.

“With radar, the control ler can see where each air craft is with the heading and altitude, also the ra dar software has a conflict resolution feature that red flags whenever two aircraft breach the vertical or hori zontal separation minima,” he stated.

Lutchmedial said what saved the day on Sunday was that the onboard Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems on each aircraft gave a reso lution advisory to the pilots to take evasive action.

The radar data is ar chived and can be replayed during an investigation.

Prime Minister Philip Davis

A section of the newly-commissioned nursery in Hosororo

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha and students commissioning the coconut nursery in Hosororo

Regional

US to support Haitian Police and deliver aid to counter gangs

The United States on Wednesday said it would boost support for the Haitian Police as they battle armed gangs and would speed up deliv ery of aid to a country suf fering from crippling short ages of basic goods owing to a gang blockade of a key fuel terminal.

Haitian gangs have for a month prevented the dis tribution of diesel and gas oline, crippling businesses and hospitals and creating shortages of basic goods, in cluding water, just as the country is struggling with a new outbreak of cholera.

The State Department has created a new visa re striction policy targeting those who support the gangs and has sent a Coast Guard vessel to patrol Haitian wa ters.

US officials who briefed reporters on Washington's response stopped short of offering to send troops to

the island nation despite appeals from the Haitian Government for an interna tional armed force.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reported that with vio lence gripping the streets of Port-au-Prince and no neighbourhood spared from the insecurity wrought by armed gangs or critical shortages of fuel, virtually everyone in Haiti’s capital is living in a state of uncer

Thousands wait for boats in Colombia as migrant crisis grows

tainty, says resident Judes Jonathas.

“We don’t know what will happen tomorrow,” Jonathas, senior pro gramme manager at the Mercy Corps humanitari an group in Haiti, recent ly told Al Jazeera in a vid eo call, describing how not a day had gone by in the past week in which he hadn’t heard gunshots ring out.

Civil society groups and

rights advocates have said Prime Minister Ariel Henry has no legitimacy — and they have rejected the pros pect of foreign intervention.

“There is frustration, there is anger, there is res ignation … it’s across all classes [of people],” said Jonathas, about the wors ening conditions. “Most Haitians are traumatised.” (Excerpts from Reuters and Al Jazeera)

T&T mom held by Police after setting fire to house, locking 2 children inside

AGasparillo, Trinidad woman allegedly locked her 21-yearold daughter and 10-yearold son inside a room in her house before setting it on fire on Tuesday.

Fortunately, the sib lings escaped through a win dow without serious injury, while a neighbour was able to extinguish the flames at the house on Dalloo Road.

After leaving the house, the mother went to the Gasparillo Police Station and admitted that she doused her daughter’s bed room with gas.

picked up a gas container, poured gas on her and her bed and set the bed ablaze.

Her mother, she claimed, then ran out of the room and locked it. The daughter broke a window in the bed room through which she and her brother escaped.

Meanwhile, the mother, 46, a paralegal, got to the station around 08:20h.

The woman reported that she had an argument with her daughter and she told her to get out of the house. But she said her daughter refused to leave.

Jamaica Broadcasting Commission bans music promoting guns and illegal drugs

The Broadcasting Commission (BC) of Jamaica on Tuesday imposed an immediate ban on the playing of music that it says, among other things,

moral disengagement and further normalise crimi nality among vulnerable and impressionable youth, and the young adult demo graphic.

Thousands of migrants, mostly Venezuelans, are stuck in a village in northwest Colombia, wait ing for boats to take them across the Gulf of Uraba, before traversing through treacherous jungle as they make their way to the United States, Colombia's human rights ombudsman said on Wednesday.

The crowd, which Colombian Government of ficials have called a human itarian crisis, has gathered in the village of Necocli, an obligatory step in the jour ney taken by tens of thou sands of people each year as they try to make their way to the United States via Central America in search of new opportunities.

"The migration crisis this year is far more serious than last year," said ombudsman Carlos Camargo, citing the greater number of migrants attempting to make the journey, as well as their pre carious economic condition.

So far this year, 150,000 people have tried to make their way through the socalled Darien Gap – a dan gerous stretch of jungle join ing Colombia and Panama – compared to 134,000 in the whole of 2021, with trends suggesting more peo ple will attempt the journey, Camargo said.

Some 9000 migrants are currently in Necocli, Camargo said.

Colombia has in recent years become the main des tination for people fleeing Venezuela's political, social and economic crisis, with 2.4 million Venezuelans resid ing in Colombia, according to migration authorities.

While Colombia has of fered temporary protect ed status to Venezuelan mi grants, giving them access to jobs and healthcare, for 10 years, many have decided to try to travel to the United States, according to sources in Colombia's migration agency. (Excerpts from Reuters)

The woman, her two daughters and her 10-yearold son live at the house.

Her daughter told Police that around 07:55h, she was in her bedroom with her broth er, a pupil of Gasparillo Hindu School, when she had an ar gument with her mother, who told her to leave the house.

She told Police her moth er hit her on her hand,

The mother allegedly told the officers that during the argument, she sprinkled gas on her daughter’s bed and around the room and told her she would burn down the house if they couldn’t live in peace.

The woman claimed she then changed her clothing and headed for the Police Station. (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

US, Mexico announce new migration enforcement process for Venezuelans

The United States and Mexico announced joint actions on Wednesday aimed at re ducing the number of peo ple arriving at their border owing to the humanitari an and economic crisis in Venezuela.

"Effective immediately, Venezuelans who enter the United States between ports of entry, without authori

sation, will be returned to Mexico," the US Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

"Our comprehensive ef fort to reduce the irregular migration of Venezuelans also includes a new process to lawfully and safely bring up to 24,000 qualifying Venezuelans into the United States," the statement add ed. (Excerpt from Reuters)

promotes or glorifies lottery scamming, the use of illic it drugs like Molly, and ille gal guns.

The Commission, whose role is to monitor and reg ulate electronic media, broadcast radio and tele vision, as well as subscrib er television, said that the directive to radio stations reinforces its commitment to keeping airwaves free of harmful content given the important role traditional media still plays as agents of socialisation.

It said that the use of the public airwaves to broad cast songs that promote/ glorify illegal activity could give the wrong impression that criminality is an ac cepted feature of Jamaican culture and society.

In a statement, the Commission said it could unwittingly lend support to

BC Executive Director Cordel Green said it was the end product of a wide-rang ing process that included focused monitoring, decod ing of subculture dialect and urban slangs, deliber ations on balancing free ex pression vis-a-vis protection from harm, and consulta tions with Industry.

Green said that this ap proach was necessary given the nuances and peculiari ties inherent in content reg ulation.

Under the directive, the Commission has banned “any audio or video record ing, live song, or speech which promotes and/or glo rifies scamming, illegal use or abuse of drugs, illegal or harmful use of guns or other offensive weapons, “jungle justice” or any other form of illegal or criminal activity”.

(Excerpt from CMC)

Student rushed to hospital after falling from building in school compound

Afourth-grade student of the Windward Road

Primary & Junior High School in Kingston was rushed to hospital af ter falling from a building at the school compound on Wednesday.

The circumstances sur rounding the incident are

unclear at the moment, how ever, information reaching Observer Online is that the boy fell from the second floor of Block C on the campus during lunch break.

The injured boy was tak en to hospital where his condition is not presently known. (Jamaica Observer)

A bread vendor pushes his cart past a burning barricade during a protest against Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry calling for his resignation, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, October 10, 2022 [Richard Pierrin/AFP photo]

Migrants and refugees board a boat in Necocli, Colombia, a key stop on the journey towards Panama and then the US, in September 2021 [Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters photo]

Block C at the Windward Road Primary and Junior High School

Oil down on strong dollar, recession worries and hawkish Fed talk

Oilfutures fell for a third day in a row on Wednesday, fuelled by ongoing concerns about demand, the dollar's strength, and expectations for more interest rate hikes by major central banks.

Both the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the US Energy Department slashed their demand outlooks. Last week, together with allies including Russia, OPEC sent prices rising when it agreed to cut supply by two million barrels per day (bpd).

Brent crude futures settled down US$1.84, or two per cent to US$92.45. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended down US$2.08, a 2.3 per cent drop, to US$87.27 a barrel. OPEC on Wednesday cut its outlook for demand growth this year by between 460,000 bpd and 2.64 million bpd, citing the resurgence of China's COVID-19 containment measures and high inflation.

"The world economy has entered into a time of heightened uncertainty and rising challenges," OPEC said in its monthly report.

The US Energy Department lowered its expectations for both production and demand in the United States and globally. It now sees just a 0.9 per cent increase in US consumption in 2023, down from a previous forecast for a rise of 1.7 per cent. Worldwide, the Department sees consumption rising just 1.5 per cent, down from a previous forecast for two per cent growth.

"We're not trading a slowdown in the economy – it's fear of a slowdown in the future," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

The energy market is under pressure as well from the dollar, which rallied against low-yielding currencies like the yen. The Federal Reserve's commitment to keep raising interest rates to stem high inflation has boosted yields, making the US currency more attractive to foreign investors.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Wednesday the central bank will stick to its current course as "we have not yet seen much evidence that underlying inflation ... is yet softening."

US producer-level inflation fanned worries on Wednesday as wholesale prices rose more than anticipated. A stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies and tends to weigh on oil and other risk assets.

OPEC's decision angered the United States, with President Joe Biden vowing unspecified "consequences" for relations with Saudi Arabia after the move due to current tightness in supply worldwide.

Russia's State-owned pipeline monopoly Transneft on Wednesday said it had received notice from Polish operator PERN about a leak on the Druzhba oil pipeline, Interfax reported.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday cut its global growth forecast for 2023 and warned of increasing risk of a global recession. (Reuters)

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday said the global economy was facing "significant headwinds" and the United States was work ing to shore up its supply chains and guard against "geopolitical coercion" by Russia and others.

Yellen told an event host ed by the Bretton Woods Committee, a booster group, that Washington was work

ing to deepen integration with the countries it could count on, including many emerging markets and de veloping countries, while building in more redundan cies in its supply chains.

"We know the cost of Russia’s weaponisation of trade as a tool of geopolit ical coercion, and we must mitigate similar vulnerabili ties to countries like China," Yellen said.(Reuters)

Around the World

UN denounces Russian “annexation” while West backs Ukraine with more air defences

The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly con demned Russia's attempt ed annexation of four Ukrainian areas while Kyiv's allies committed more military aid after intense Russian missile strikes.

In New York, three-quar ters of the 193-member General Assembly – 143 coun tries – voted on Wednesday in favour of a resolution that called Moscow's move illegal, deepening Russia's interna tional isolation.

Only four countries joined Russia in voting against the resolution –Syria, Nicaragua, North Korea and Belarus. Thirtyfive countries abstained from the vote, including Russia's strategic partner China, while the rest did not vote.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Twitter he was "grateful to 143 States that supported historic #UNGA resolution ...(Russia's) attempt at an nexation is worthless".

The monitors at the United Nations General Assembly hall display a vote to resolution condemn ing the annexation of parts

of Ukraine amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the United Nations Headquarters

In Brussels, more than 50 Western countries met to pledge more military aid to Ukraine, especial ly air defence weapons, on the heels of heavy retalia tory strikes this week or dered by Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to an explosion on a bridge in Crimea, for which the FSB has since arrested eight persons.

Pledges from allies in cluded an announcement by France that it would de

Alex Jones told to pay US$965M damages to Sandy Hook victims' families

Conspiracy theo rist Alex Jones has been ordered to pay US$965 million in damag es after falsely claiming the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.

The families of eight vic tims, and an FBI agent who responded to the attack, had sought at least US$550 million in the defamation trial in Connecticut.

They alleged the rightwing radio host's misin formation led to a decade of harassment and death threats.

Twenty children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Jones, who founded the conspiracy-laden Infowars website and talk show, ar gued for years that the massacre was a "staged" Government plot to take guns from Americans and that "no-one died".

He called the parents of victims "crisis actors" and

argued that some of them never actually existed.

He now acknowledges the attack was "100% real", a concession he made in August at a separate defa mation trial in Texas.

As the verdict was read out on Wednesday in Waterbury, Connecticut – some 32 kilometres (20 miles) from the site of the 2012 shooting – many of the families were visibly emo tional with some in tears.

The three-week trial was marked by emotional testimony from a succession of parents.

Some described receiv ing a deluge of online hate and others said they had to move homes repeatedly for their own safety. A father, Mark Barden, recounted hearing that people were desecrating his son Daniel's grave by "urinating on it and threatening to dig it up".

(Excerpt

liver radar and air defence systems to Ukraine in the coming weeks. Canada said it would provide artillery rounds and winter clothing among other supplies.

At the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Brussels, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Russia's latest attacks laid bare its "malice and cruel ty" since invading Ukraine on February 24. At least 26 people have been killed since Monday in Russian missile at tacks across Ukraine. (Excerpt from Reuters)

China's 'liberal' Wang Yang seen as possible Premier as reshuffle looms

When

Wang Yang was Chinese Communist Party boss of economic power house Guangdong province, the man now considered a top contender to be China's next premier displayed a liberal streak that has been less visible since Xi Jinping took power.

During his time in Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong, Wang made his mark by pushing an up grade of rusting industries and touting socially inclu sive policies.

In a stand-off over land grabs in the village of Wukan in late 2011, Wang dismissed corrupt officials and allowed protest leaders to contest grassroots elec tions the following spring, winning international plau dits.

Some of those lib eral-minded moves in Guangdong, however, were later scaled back or scrapped under Wang's watch, with further curbs imposed on the media and civil society including labour groups af

ter Xi became leader a de cade ago and set China on an increasingly authoritari an path.

Wang, 67, is considered to be among the top candi dates to be named to suc ceed Li Keqiang when Li leaves his post in March as overseer of the world's sec ond-largest economy.

While the premiership is number two in the lead ership hierarchy, it is seen to have become less influen tial as Xi has consolidated his own power and imposed a tighter State grip over eco nomic management. Xi is expected to break with prec edent by securing a third five-year leadership term at the Communist Party con gress that begins on October 16.

A self-made man who worked at a food factory in his teens to support his sin gle mother and family, Wang later reportedly caught the eye of former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping and forged close ties with former President Hu Jintao.

Europe likely entering another COVID wave, says WHO and ECDC

Another wave of COVID-19 infections may have begun in Europe as cases begin to tick up across the region, the World Health Organisation and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Wednesday.

"Although we are not where we were one year ago, it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic is still not over,"

WHO's Europe Director, Hans Kluge, and ECDC's Director, Andrea Ammon, said in a joint statement.

"We are, unfortunate ly, seeing indicators rising again in Europe, suggesting that another wave of infec tions has begun."

WHO's region-wise data showed that only Europe re corded a rise in COVID-19 cases in the week ended October 2, clocking an in

crease of eight per cent from the prior week.

Public health experts have warned that vaccine fatigue and confusion over available vaccines will likely limit booster uptake in the region.

Millions of people across Europe remain unvaccinat ed against COVID-19, the WHO and ECDC noted.

They urged European countries to administer both

flu and COVID-19 vaccines ahead of an expected surge in cases of seasonal influen za.

"There was no time to lose," the WHO and ECDC said, adding that vulnera ble groups, including peo ple over 60 years old, preg nant women, and those with co-morbidities, should get vaccinated against both in fluenza and COVID-19.

(Reuters)

Monitors at the United Nations General Assembly hall display the results of a vote on a resolution condemning the annexation of parts of Ukraine by Russia, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, New York, US, October 12, 2022 (Reuters/David “Dee” Delgado photo)

Reuters)

Wang Yang

Treasury's Yellen says global economy faces headwinds, warns of geopolitical “coercion”

HOROSCOPES

You'll have some good ideas, but be fore implementing them, go over ev ery detail to ensure your plan is solid. Share information to avoid leading oth ers astray. Be realistic.

(March 21-April 19)

Pay attention to detail when it comes to how you handle your money and your living arrangements. Share your con cerns, and the input you receive will help clear up a misunderstanding.

(April 20-May 20)

SUDOKU

(May 21-June 20)

Cut loose and have fun. Plan social activities that put a smile on your face, and spend time with encouraging peo ple. Personal improvements will result in gains that will put your mind at ease.

Make a pit stop to ensure everything is in order before you proceed. You may have a foolproof plan, but unless there is a clear path to your destination, you must do your due diligence first.

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

Plant the seeds, share your concerns and prepare to act. Leave nothing to chance or in someone else's hands. Take control, make your mark and reap the rewards. Make honesty and romance priorities.

Don't share information. Keep your emotions in check and your eye on what's happening around you. Consider what benefits you most, and make a move to protect what you've accomplished.

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Believe in yourself and make a move. You'll prosper if you don't hesitate or give someone the upper hand. Keep your plans secret until you have the time to put everything in place. Update your im age.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

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

Proceed with caution. When in doubt, sit tight. Go over your assets and lia bilities and find a way to cut corners and ease stress. Be innovative and find cheaper ways to get things done.

Share information, discuss your in tentions and be firm about your plans. Put your best foot forward and offer a positive attitude and solutions to every one you encounter.

Channel your energy into personal changes that put a smile on your face, a skip in your step and add excitement to your life. Say no to anyone suggesting you try something risky.

SOLUTION FOR LAST

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Not everyone will be happy with your decisions, but you must follow your heart and do what's best for you. Set your sights on keeping everything up dated and in tiptop shape.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

Consider your friends and family be fore deciding to change how you live or do things. A partnership will require your attention if you want to avoid dis appointment. Be specific.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

Windies

Talented Windies could struggle at T20 World Cup, insists Gayle ManU will fight any attempt to ban Ronaldo over improper conduct charge

ball-smash ing T20 star Chris Gayle believes the West Indies could strug gle at the upcoming World Cup, a tournament that they would head into with a new generation of players.

For the first time in de cades, the likes of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell will not be a part of the team. While Bravo and Pollard have retired from in ternational cricket, Russell has not been selected for the squad after an indifferent run of form.

Instead, the unit will fea ture the likes of burgeoning T20 star Nicholas Pooran and a host of other talent ed players, who are yet to prove themselves on the in ternational stage for the

Caribbean team.

“It will be very difficult for the West Indies team, as the captain of the team is new and there is no Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, and Bravo in the team,” Gayle told India daily Dainik Jagran.

team. As everyone knows, it is just a matter of adapt ing your strategy in the right way on match day. I hope the team plays well,” he added.

The West Indies will go into action with a Group Stage encounter against Scotland on Monday.

Lucky CPL streamto-win winners enjoyed CPL finals

Five lucky winners and their friends had won trips of a lifetime to watch the Hero Caribbean Premier League T20 fi nals between the Barbados Royals and the Jamaica Tallawahs at Providence Stadium in Guyana on Friday, September 30, 2022.

Known to not miss an

all emerged winners.

“It’s been an exciting CPL 2022 season! We are happy that the Jamaica Tallawahs came out on top to secure their third CPL title, bringing the trophy home to Jamaica,” said Tari Lovell, Head of Marketing, Digital Services, at Digicel Group.

“Thanks to the

opportunity to give cus tomers more, Digicel and SportsMax hosted a streamto-win competition in which every customer who pur chased a Digicel Prime Bundle and streamed the CPL T20 games live from August 31 to September 16 was given a chance to win a trip to the finals.

From each participat ing market, the user with the most time spent in-app during this period won the chance to catch “the biggest party in sport” up close and personal.

Dennis Henry from Jamaica, Allan Sirjoo from Trinidad & Tobago, Carlton Alwin John from Guyana, Havie Stephen from St. Lucia, and Kalia Huggins from St. Kitts & Nevis had

SportsMax app, I haven’t missed a moment of the ac tion, and I know our win ners feel the same way too. I just want to congratulate them once more, and thank them for choosing Digicel and SportsMax.”

This year, the Barbados Royals, St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots, Saint Lucia Kings, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Jamaica Tallawahs and Trinbago Knight Riders all went head-to-head to battle for the coveted CPL T20 ti tle.

Cricket fans were able to stream live matches all sea son long on the SportsMax app using their superfast Digicel LTE prime data bun dles, or on the SportsMax channels on Digicel+.

(Sportsmax)

Manchester United will fight any at tempt to ban Cristiano Ronaldo over the mobile phone incident at Everton in April.

United manager Erik ten Hag said on Wednesday the Portugal forward 'will not accept' the Football Association's 'improper and/ or violent conduct' charge.

Ronaldo received a police caution after he knocked a phone out of a fan's hands in an incident following a 1-0 de feat by Everton at Goodison Park.

He had been given until Monday evening to respond to the FA charge, which could only be brought following the end of Merseyside Police's

involvement in the case in August.

United had not stated what Ronaldo's response was.

"We spoke about that and he will not accept it," said Ten Hag, ahead of Thursday's Europa League group game against Cypriot side Omonia Nicosia.

The club subsequently clarified Ten Hag's remarks, saying that Ronaldo would not accept a harsh punish ment, which United feel would be un fair, rather than dis puting that the incident took place.

(BBC Sport)

World Athletics’ Female Athlete of the Year award… Fraser-Pryce, Miller-Uibo, Jackson among 10 nominated

Shelly-Ann

Fraser-

Pryce, Shericka Jackson and Shaunae Miller-Uibo have been named among the 10 women nominated for 2022 World Athletics’ Female Athlete of the Year award. World Athletics released the list of nominees on Wednesday.

Fraser-Pryce created history last season when she won her fifth 100m World title, which made her the first running ath lete to win five titles since the World Championships began in 1983. At age of 35, the Jamaican was also the oldest woman to win a sprint title.

Away from the champi onships, Fraser-Pryce also ran faster than 10.7 seconds seven times, including a world-leading 10.62 during the season. The previous record of four times was set by compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah in 2021.

Fraser-Pryce also won a fifth Diamond League tro phy in Zurich.

Jackson, 28, won her first global individual sprint title when she ran a world-lead ing 21.45 to win the 200m at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The time was the second fastest in history, was a new national record, and was the fastest time run over the distance since Florence GriffithJoyner ran the world record of 21.34 in 1988.

Jackson also won the 200m Diamond League.

Miller-Uibo, meanwhile, was a three-time champion in 2022, winning the World Indoor 400m title in March,

the World 400m title in July, and the NACAC title in August.

While these Caribbean athletes’ accomplishments have been impressive, it will take some doing to walk away with the Athlete of the Year title, as also among the nominees is the super-tal ented American Sydney McLaughlin, who broke the world record in the 400m hurdles twice during the season.

First, she ran a new world record of 51.41 at the US Championships, and then lowered it to 50.68 at the World Championships, where she also won gold as a member of the USA’s 4x400m relay team.

Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan

Trophy.

Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas won world titles in doors and outdoors, and im proved her own world re cord by taking it to 15.74m. She was also the Diamond League champion.

Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon is also among the nominees, as she won the World title and the Diamond League ti

ran a world-record 12.12 at the World Championships, and went on to win her first global title in the final. She followed up by winning her second Commonwealth Games title in a new cham pionship record, and then the Diamond League

tle in 2022. She also became the second fastest woman ever over the 1500m with a time of 3:50.37, which was just 0.3 outside the world record.

World shot put cham pion Chase Ealey of the USA, world 20km race walk champion Kimberly Garcia of Peru, and world high jump champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh are also among the nominees.

A three-way voting pro cess will determine the fi nalists.

The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family will cast

their votes by email, while fans can vote online via the World Athletics social me dia platforms.

Individual graphics for each nominee will be post ed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube this week; a 'like' on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, or a retweet on Twitter will count as one vote.

The World Athletics Council’s vote will count for 50 per cent of the result, while the World Athletics Family’s votes and the pub lic votes will each count for 25 per cent of the final re sult.

Voting for the World Athletes of the Year clos es at midnight on Monday, October 31. At the conclu sion of the voting process, five women and five men fi nalists will be announced by World Athletics.

The winners will be re vealed on World Athletics’ so cial media platforms in early December. (Sportsmax)

Shelly- Ann Fraser- Pryce

Shuanae Miller- Uibo

Shericka Jackson

CG Regional Super50 bowls off on October 29

- Guyana Harpy Eagles to play first match on October 31

The CG United Super50 Cup returns on 29 October, with the Caribbean’s 50-over cricket rivals competing for the first time since February 2021. The West Indies Academy team and Combined Campuses & Colleges (CCC) will join the six regional fran chise teams to contest the 2022 CG United Super50 Cup, to be played in Antigua and Trinidad from 29 October to 19 November.

The 2022 edition of the region’s pre-eminent 50-over white ball competition also marks the start of the count down towards the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and an op portunity for players across the West Indies to push for consideration and selection for the West Indies ODI team.

Trinidad & Tobago Red Force will defend their ti tle and host Zone A, featur ing the Windward Islands Volcanoes, Guyana Harpy Eagles, and CCC. Zone B will feature hosts the Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Barbados Pride, Jamaica Scorpions, and the West Indies Academy. The opening match will be on Saturday 29 October, and would see Zone B hosts Leeward Islands Hurricanes facing the West Indies Academy.

For the first time, the West Indies Academy will be featuring in the CG United Super50 Cup, and the West Indies Academy players will have the development oppor tunity to play List A crick et against the best in the Caribbean. This opportunity is part of the Academy pro gramme’s main objectives of bridging the gap between youth and professional crick et in the region. The West Indies Emerging Players side famously won the Super50 Cup in 2019, and six of those players have since gone on to represent the West Indies.

A match will be streamed live on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel in the Caribbean and around the world.

Each team will play six group matches, playing each of their Zone competitors twice. The top two teams from each Zone will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be played in Antigua at the SVRS on Wednesday 16 November and Thursday 17 November. The CG United Super50 Cup final will be at the same ven ue on Saturday 19 November.

Johnny Grave, CWI CEO said:

“The 2022 CG United Super50 Cup promises to be an action-packed event for our fans to feast on exciting cricket rivalries, and for play ers to push for selection to the West Indies. This year’s tour nament features some of the region’s best and upcoming talent competing to win the CG United Sir Clive Lloyd Trophy.”

Grave added: “We are looking forward to seeing the West Indies Academy and CCC play against our pro fessional regional teams, and expect the competition to provide them with an excel lent development opportuni ty. This will help to broaden

Matches at BLCA start at 2pm local time (1pm Jamaica); matches at QPO start at 9am local time (8am Jamaica)

31 October: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs CCC at BLCA

31 October: Windward Islands Volcanoes vs Guyana

9am local time (8am Jamaica)

29 October: Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs West Indies Academy at the SVRS (start 1pm) – Live on ESPN Caribbean

1 November: Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Jamaica Scorpions at the SVRS (start 1pm) – Live on

Chef de Mission reports health scare at SA Games

the pool of players being ex posed to highest levels of com

Harpy Eagles at QPO

2 November: Trinidad &

ESPN Caribbean

1 November: West Indies Academy vs Barbados Pride at CCG

3 November: Barbados Pride vs Jamaica Scorpions at the SVRS - Live on ESPN Caribbean

5 November: Jamaica Scorpions vs West Indies Academy at the SVRS (start at 9am) - Live on ESPN Caribbean

Chef de Mission at the ongoing South American Games, Keavon Bess, has disclosed an instance of health is sues that rose this week at the Games in Asuncion, Paraguay.

The disclosure was made through a missive on Tuesday.

“At about 11:45 on the 10th day of October, 2022, after the Guyanese delega tion returned from Nicolette Fernandes’ quarter finals match, Keevin Allicock start ed to complain about a pain in his right chest area, and eventually it became clear to myself and his other team mates that we needed the help of a doctor and an ambu lance,” the missive informed.

“The Panamanian Chef de Mission, who was in the lobby area when we contact ed the front desk, overheard our situation, and sensing an emergency, she imme diately summoned her doc tors, and one of them rushed to Keevin’s room and ren dered vital assistance until the EMT and ambulance ar rived.

fore their departure. Additionally, the Games Organizers also have health insurance coverage to the tune of US$10,000 for each member of the delegation.

“Moreover, a listing of all of the hospitals has been provided to each delegation, and, most importantly, all of the hospitals in the host city of Asuncion have been put on high alert to deal with any medical incidents relative to the games.

“Hence, the ambulance arrived at the host hotel in about 5 (five) minutes af ter the emergency call was made, and Keevin received immediate attention when he arrived at the La Costa Hospital.”

About Keevin’s recov ery, it was disclosed that the bronze medal-winning pugilist spent sone 5 hours in the hospital before be ing discharged, and was even well enough to witness Nicolette Fernandes’s semi final victory in the Squash arena on Tuesday night.

Tobago Red Force vs Guyana Harpy Eagles at BLCA

2 November: CCC vs Windward Islands Volcanoes at QPO

5 November: Guyana Harpy Eagles vs CCC at BLCA

5 November: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Windward Islands Volcanoes at QPO

7 November: Windward Islands Volcanoes vs Guyana Harpy Eagles at BLCA

7 November: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs CCC at QPO

9 November: CCC vs Windward Islands Volcanoes at BLCA

9 November: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Guyana Harpy Eagles at QPO

12 November: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Windward Islands Volcanoes at BLCA

12 November: Guyana Harpy Eagles vs CCC at QPO

Zone B

Matches at the SVRS start at 2pm local time (1pm Jamaica) unless otherwise stated. CCG matches start

6 November: Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Barbados Pride at the SVRSLive on ESPN Caribbean

8 November: Barbados Pride vs Jamaica Scorpions at the SVRS - Live on ESPN Caribbean

9 November: Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs West Indies Academy at the SVRS - Live on ESPN Caribbean

11 November: West Indies Academy vs Barbados Pride at the SVRS - Live on ESPN Caribbean

11 November: Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Jamaica Scorpions at CCG

13 November: Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Barbados Pride at the SVRSLive on ESPN Caribbean

14 November: Jamaica Scorpions v West Indies Academy at the SVRS - Live on ESPN Caribbean

16 November: Semi-final 1 – Winner of Zone A vs Second of Zoner B at the SVRS - Live on ESPN Caribbean

17 November: Semi-final 2 – Winner of Zone B vs Second of Zone A at the SVRS - Live on ESPN Caribbean

19 November: FINAL at the SVRS - Live on ESPN Caribbean

“Boxing Coach Terence Poole and I accompa nied Keevin to the hospi tal in the ambulance, and we were later joined by Garfield Wiltshire, the man ager of the Squash Team. Keevin was attended to by a full team of medical per sonnel, who carried out an ECG and determined that his heart was working nor mally and was not under stress. His blood and urine samples were taken so that other tests could be carried out. After the results came back from the lab, the doc tors explained to the Boxing Coach that Keevin was ex tremely dehydrated to the extent that even his bones were lacking fluids, and this caused the pain in the chest and the difficulty in breath ing,” Bess reported.

Presumably alluding to the Guyanese contingent’s lack of accompanying med ical staff, the press release offered consolation in the revelation that the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) had catered for insurance.

The release explained, “Each member of Guyana’s delegation to the South American Games 2022 has travel insurance (health and other coverage) that was secured by the Guyana Olympic Association be

Aside from the scare, no other incident has been reported regard ing the Guyanese team in Paraguay.

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Keevin Allicock experienced a health scare during the South American Games

Trinidad and Tobago are defending champions

Captain Leon Johnson

Shimron Hetmyer is expected to play for Guyana Harpy Eagles

Johnson scores century, wins for Demerara and Berbice

Story and PhotoS By Brandon Corlette

Powerhouse teams

Berbice and Demerara have recorded wins in their respective match es in the second round of the Guyana Cricket Board’s (GCB’s) Senior Inter-County 50-overs tournament.

Demerara thrashed GCB President's XI by 160 runs at Everest, while Berbice de feated Essequibo by 26 runs via the DLS when bad light stopped play at Bourda.

National captain Leon Johnson scored a brilliant 153 to lead his side, and was supported by the experi enced Christopher Barnwell and the solid Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who each scored half-centuries of their own.

Anthony Bramble con tinued his fine form, scoring 62, while Romario Shepherd had a good all-round game, claiming four wickets and scoring an unbeaten 30 for Berbice.

Bramble, Shepherd lead Berbice to victory

In the chase, Berbice got off to a solid start. Antony Bramble, who was dropped early, then began his six-hit ting, striking Antony Adams into the members’ pavilion. He struck Ricardo Adams for three consecutive fours, all of which went straight

away, and he got the prize scalp of Shimron Hetmyer, who made nine from 15 balls. Hetmyer, who was caught be hind on the second attempt by Kemol Savory, depart ed with the score at 89-3 in 16.3 overs, and that wicket evoked lusty cheers from the Essequibo fans.

Jonathan Foo settled the nerves and was partnered by an explosive Shepherd.

Kevin Christian, who was caught in the slips for two.

Kemol Savory, who scored a century in the first round against GCB President's XI, looked in trouble against the quality work of Smith and Shepherd.

The left-handed wick etkeeper/ batsman was dropped at first slip by Jonathan Foo, but he was caught at third-man

The duo took Berbice to 1444 in 26 overs as the dust set tled at Bourda. The umpires had a long discussion and

by Gudakesh Motie off Shepherd. Savroy, who scored one, was attempting to go over the off-side, but the ball got the outer edge of the bat.

A returning Keemo Paul, who missed the first round, made a return to batting at number four, but looked out of sorts early in his innings, struggling with his timing. He then watched the de parture of Ricardo Adams, who was trapped leg-before by the probing Shepherd.

At 30-4 from eight overs, Berbice were large and in charge. The rain then came at Bourda, but after the de lay, the match resumed.

Paul was joined by Eknauth Persaud, and the duo added 55 runs for the fifth wicket. Persaud made a 53-ball 18 but he was trapped leg-before by Veerasammy Permaul. Paul was then caught for 46 from 82 balls, after occupying the crease for 11 minutes.

He struck one six and three

fours.

At 106-5 from 27.3 overs, Berbice had Essequibo on the backfoot. Quintin Sampson had other plans, as he came and played fearless cricket. He struck boundar ies off some good bowling from Kevin Sinclair, Nial Smith, Permaul, Shepherd and Gudakesh Motie. Sampson added 96 runs for the seventh wicket with his skipper Antony Adams, who consolidated with his 30 from 60 balls.

Sampson, who hits a long ball, ended a brave knock of 84 from 61 balls. He spent 89 minutes at the crease and struck eight mighty six es and two fours. He was re moved by Shepherd, who ended as the pick of Berbice bowlers with 4-37 in 10 overs, inclusive of two maid

from 10 overs. Guyana Amazon Warriors emerging talent Junior Sinclair did not get an opportunity with the ball for a second match at Bourda.

Essequibo ended on 226 all out when Kevin Sinclair

Day, he showed his class, outscoring Chanderpaul. Chanderpaul, who failed to convert his half-century, was bowled for 53 from 82 balls, an innings that had five fours. Johnson surpassed his century in 86 balls, and

down the ground.

Keemo Paul left the bowl ing crease struggling with an injury after bowling eight balls, and the Essequibo spinners had to do the bulk of the bowling. Rampertab Ramnauth gave away his wicket when he was caught for 12 off the steady Antony Adams with the scora at 69-1. Bramble, who scored a first-round century, end ed his innings of 62 from 53 balls when he was bowled by Garfield Phillips. He struck seven fours and three sixes, and departed with the score on 79-1 in the 15th over.

Phillips continued to probe

bad light had stopped play. Shepherd was unbeaten on 30 from 19 balls, while Foo was 16 not out.

Shepherd earned the player of the match award for his four wickets and 30 runs scored, inclusive of three sixes and two fours.

Earlier, Essequibo won the toss and opted to bat first. The Berbice seamers Nial Smith and Romario Shepherd made early in roads. Kevon Boodie, who missed a century in the opening round, edged one behind off Smith for one.

Shepherd, bowling from the southern end, then removed

ens.

Kevin Sinclair had 3-35 in his five overs, while Permaul ended with 2-36

got revenge in the 49th over.

Johnson shows class for Demerara

Demerara had won the toss and opted to bat first. Chandrapaul Hemraj was removed for two, bowled by the promising Shamar Joseph at 9-1 in 4.2 overs. Tevin Imlach was trapped leg-before by Suresh Dhanai at 32-2 in 13 overs. Captain Johnson and vice-captain Tagenarine Chanderpaul then joined forces, and the duo added 133 runs for the third wicket.

The left-handed duo took advantage of the inexperi enced bowling and the ordi nary fielding. Johnson, who made 51 in the first round against Berbice, continued his fine form. Despite not playing cricket since June 2022 at the Regional Four-

continued to stroke the ball to perfection at Everest as his family watched in de light.

Johnson and Barnwell added 121 runs for the fourth wicket. Barnwell struck five sixes and three fours in his 44-ball 63. The National captain, Johnson, scored 153, struck 14 fours and slammed eight sixes in 117 balls, batting for 130 minutes.

Sherfane Rutherford, who landed in Guyana on Tuesday, returned to Demerara colours and slammed big sixes into the seawalls in his unbeaten 26 from 11 balls, an innings that had three sixes and one four. Dhanai, who was hit all over the park, executed some yorkers to perfection and ended with 3-87 in ten overs.

Trevon Griffith had 1-34 in six overs, while Joseph had 1-4 in four overs. He had a collision and was tak en to the hospital for a scan.

In reply, President's XI lost wickets at regular inter vals, despite the top knock from Trevon Griffith, who made 63. Steven Sankar's 4-44 and Ashmead Nedd's 2-22 wrapped up the President's XI innings on 156 all out.

The tournament will continue on Friday October 14 with Berbice taking on GCB President's XI at Bourda, and Demerara play ing Essequibo at Enmore. Weather permitting, both matches will bowl off at 9:00h.

Anthony Bramble dancing down the track

Leon Johnson was all class at Everest during his 153

Leon Johnson acknowledging the crowd

Shepherd claimed 4-37 and Permaul supported with two wickets

Barnwell bossed the GCB President's XI bowling

Fernandes bags silver at South American Games

Guyanese squash ace Nicolette Fernandes added anoth er South American Games medal to her trophy case on Wednesday night, but after her near- perfect campaign in Asuncion, Paraguay, it wasn’t the accolade most had hoped for.

Much like her semifinal match, the Women’s Singles Squash final saw five sets being contested in entertaining fash ion.

On Tuesday night, Fernandes, who had been faultless in the tournament thus far, had to overcome an early scare during her semifinal match against Maria Paula Moya Lopez of Ecuador.

Fernandes took the first set 12-10, but Lopez rebounded to pick up two back-toback sets, 11-5, 11-4. The Guyanese then pulled off two consecutive wins of her own, 11-5, 11-4, to claim the game.

As such, Fernandes ensured that she would set up her second face-off of the

year with Laura Tovar of Colombia, for a chance to get her hands on the gold medal. Interestingly, Fernandes and Tovar had bat tled each other earlier this year in the Pan American Games’ final, which the Guyanese won 11-9, 11-4, 11-5.

However, Tovar managed this time to turn the tables on the Guyanese play er with a major comeback in the last three sets. Fernandes took control of sets 1 and 2, winning 11-6, 11-7. Tovar then held out to win the next two sets 11-7, 11-7. The final set determined the South American champion, and after a lengthy rally between the two, Tovar won the set 13-11, and by extension the gold medal.

Fernandes’s silver medal adds to Guyana’s tally of two bronze medals at the 2022 Games, won in the discipline of boxing by Keevin Allicock and Desmond Amsterdam on Monday night.

Johnson scores century, wins for Demerara

Nicolette Fernandes roped in Guyana’s third medal, a silver, at the South American Games