Guyana Times - Thursday, September 29, 2022

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Thursday, September 29 –10:00h-11:00h and Friday, September 30 – 04:00h-05:30h.

Thursday, September 29 –06:10h-07:40h and Friday, September 30 – 06:45h-08:15h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Parika and Supenaam departure times – 05:00h, 10:00h-12:00h, 16:00h, 18:30h daily

WEATHER TODAY

Sunshine is expected during the day with clear skies at night. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 33 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North North-Easterly to South SouthWesterly between 1.78 metres

High Tide: 06:29h

Low Tide: 12:16h reaching

metres.

minimum height of

Hailing

the bond that Guyana shares with fellow South American nation Chile, President Dr Irfaan Ali has said that there were even greater prospects than ever before for the two countries to strengthen their ties in trade and other areas.

The President on Tuesday evening attended a reception to mark the 212th Independence anniversa ry of the Republic of Chile. While there, he spoke of the ties between the two coun tries and how they have a greater chance than ever be fore to strengthen those ties.

“There is a common quest for sustainable devel opment. Guyana and Chile are now at a place where the prospects of deepening and expanding bilateral cooper ation – including trade, in vestment and commercial ties – are greater than ever before.

“Chile has been a reliable partner in Guyana’s quest

sit of ships and vessels in Guyana, in the middle term, will likely advance to a high er (level) in deepening rela

into an agriculture country and contribute to region al food security, by allow ing food produced in this country to access the mar ket with ease and at a com petitive price,” Ambassador Vásquez said.

It was only on Monday that the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD)-DIRECTEMAR (Chile’s Port Security) Workshop opened at the Pegasus Hotel. The work shop took shape follow ing discussions between Public Works Minister Juan Edghill and the Chilean Ambassador to Guyana.

issue of port security… I can tell you that our waterways are becoming busier by the day,” Edghill had said.

“You’re the operators. You’re the ones who facili tate and provide services to ensure that our ports func tion effectively and safely. So, you know exactly what I’m talking about. We have to do things better. We have to be more efficient. We have to be able to embrace inter national best practices.”

for peace and progress. I of fer to you the gratitude of the Guyanese people and in dicate our readiness to fur ther cement the ties that unite our two countries. We must explore ways to bring our people closer together,” President Ali said.

The President also ac knowledged the shared val ues Guyana and Chile have, in areas such as democra cy and territorial integrity. He also spoke of a food safe ty authority, which would contribute to Guyana’s food export capacity once estab lished.

Chile also came in for praise from the President for the training it is provid ing to Guyana in maritime port security.

Partnerships

Meanwhile, Chile’s Ambassador, Juan Manuel Pino Vásquez also hailed the partnership between the two countries and highlight ed the agricultural sector in particular.

“The growing tran

tions that are mutually ben eficial for Chile and Guyana. Strengthening the capabil ities of the Guyana Food Safety Authority.

“This initiative comple ments and helps the idea of the Government of Guyana to transform the country

At the time, Edghill had emphasised that MARAD would have to expand and be the beneficiary of increased Government investments if it was to meet the growing port security threats that come with Guyana’s expan sion as an oil and gas pro ducer.

“The fact that our profile has been elevated, our risks have also been elevated. So, we have to ensure that our ports are very safe. And to day we’re emphasising the

According to Edghill, MARAD will also have to ex pand its operations to better be able to police the ports and waterways. This will in clude increased capital bud gets and adding to its fleet of boats and even helicopter.

But he noted that as MARAD expanded and ac quired all these hardware, it was important the mari time body also have people who are equipped with the relevant training. And this is where the training Chile will be providing to Guyana is crucial.

Guyana and Chile estab lished diplomatic relations on July 22, 1971. (G3)

“We must explore ways to bring our people closer together” – Ali to Chilean diplomat …says opportunities exist to expand trade & investment

President Dr Irfaan Ali (right) exchanges a toast with Chilean Ambassador Juan Manuel Pino Vásquez

President Dr Irfaan Ali; Prime Minister, Brigadier (Retired) Mark Phillips and Ambassador Juan Manuel Pino Vásquez

Editor: Tusika Martin

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Enhancing livelihoods of persons living with disabilities

The lives of persons living with disabilities would be drastically changed when the construction of the $130M Business Centre is completed.

More importantly, this is the first of many such regional centres to be established.

Persons living with disabilities often times still face several challenges in Guyana and around the world. Many of these challenges remain unattended for quite some time, with no proper mechanism to address them. However, the concept of the state-of-the-art business centre signals good intention to assist those living with disabilities.

When persons with disabilities are given a chance to acquire a good education, or are taught a skill, or be able financially to support themselves, they are in a better position to break the cycle of poverty that normally defines such situations.

In a more general sense, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is necessary for countries not only to adopt, but to implement fully, because it is a tool for ensuring that people with disabilities have access to the same rights and opportunities as everybody else. As explained by the World Health Organization (WHO), rather than considering disability as an issue of medicine, charity or dependency, the Convention challenges people worldwide to understand disability as a human rights’ issue.

The Convention covers many areas where obstacles can arise, such as physical access to buildings, roads and transportation, and access to information through written and electronic communications. The Convention also aims to reduce stigma and discrimination, which are often reasons why people with disabilities are excluded from education, employment, and health and other services.

People with disabilities have generally poorer health, lower educational achievements, fewer economic opportunities, and higher rates of poverty than people without disabilities. This is largely due to the lack of services available to them, and the many obstacles they face in their everyday lives.

If one can recall, when this Dr Irfaan Ali-led administration came into Government in 2020, the Head of State, shortly after taking office, met with the umbrella body representing persons with disabilities in Guyana – the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPD) – where a call was made for the new administration to take steps to ensure that the national developmental plans are inclusionary, and create equal opportunities for persons with disabilities.

At that meeting, the organisation had listed a number of concerns which it would like to see the Government address to make life more comfortable and meaningful for persons living with disabilities. Those requests included: the establishment of a monthly Disability Grant in place of the Public Assistance; opportunities for employment of qualified and skilled PWDs in the Public Sector; improvements in the delivery of education to children with disabilities; provision of low-income housing for PWDs; and provision of assistive and mobility aids.

Today it is refreshing and noteworthy to see the reality of that list of requests being achieved.

At the sod-turning for the construction of the facility in August, Coordinator for Guyana Council of Persons Living with Disabilities, Ganesh Singh, referred to the Business Centre as a “new chapter” for the transformation of persons living with disabilities.

To quote him: “These individuals, most of them live in impoverished circumstances. A high percentage is unemployed. With this centre, that will change. You will have persons with disabilities gaining employment and lifting themselves out of poverty.” Significantly, he said that he is humbled to know there are persons who care to improve the lives of persons living with disabilities.

Kudos must be given to the Office of the First Lady and the Chinese Government, who are assisting with the funding for the programme.

This Business Centre and its replicas countrywide would indeed ensure that persons who are living with disabilities earn a decent living, express their independence, and have the economic freedom to not only have comfortable social lives, but transformative lives.

Putin’s regime may fall –but what would come next?

By AnAtol lieven

President Vladimir Putin’s dec laration of partial mobilisa tion is a sign of the utter fail ure of Russia’s Ukraine strategy since February’s invasion. That Putin wait ed so long before declaring mobilisa tion is partly because it involves an implicit recognition of this failure, and of the fact that the “special mil itary operation” is in fact a full-scale war, which Russia seems to be losing. It is also because he feared – rightly – a backlash from the Russian pub lic. His regime is now in serious dan ger. Another major defeat would most probably bring it down.

What could be much more danger ous than the mobilisation itself is the combination of this announcement with the decision to hold referendums in the eastern Donbas (recognised as independent by Russia in February), and the other territories occupied by Russian forces during the invasion.

The key question is not the re sults of the “votes” on joining Russia themselves, which are a foregone conclusion, but whether the Russian government and parliament move im mediately to annex these territories. If they do, it will be a sign that Moscow has given up any hope of peace and is ready to fight on indefinitely; for this annexation could never be accepted by Ukraine or the West and be part of any agreed settlement. The very best that could be hoped for in Ukraine will then be a series of unstable ceasefires punctuated by war, as has been the case in Kashmir for the past 75 years.

It will become apparent with in the next week whether this is in fact Moscow’s intention, or whether the referendums are instead a move to create bargaining chips for future negotiation. It should be remembered that the Donbas separatist republics declared independence from Ukraine in 2014, but it was only eight years later, on the eve of war this February, that Moscow officially recognised their independence. In the meantime, Moscow negotiated with Ukraine and the West on the return of these ter ritories to Ukraine with guarantees of full autonomy, under the Minsk II

agreement of 2015.

This time, too, the referendums may be a threat to annex if the West does not seek a compromise, rather than a prelude to immediate annex ation. Some hope that this may be the case was given by Putin’s approv ing reference in his speech last week to Ukraine’s peace offer of March, which included a treaty of neutrality and a shelving of the territorial dis putes for future negotiation. The rea sons for the collapse of those peace ne gotiations are highly disputed, but in Russia’s version of events it was the West that blocked them and Ukraine that abandoned them.

The reasons why Moscow might want a ceasefire are obvious. Putin’s original plan, to capture Kyiv and turn Ukraine into a client state, failed utterly. The fall-back plan, to cap ture the Russian-speaking areas of the east and south, was fought to a standstill far short of many of its key goals, and is now in serious danger of being rolled back by Ukrainian coun teroffensives. Putin’s regime has been badly shaken by its defeat in Kharkiv province. If Ukraine were to drive Russia from Kherson or large parts of the Donbas, Putin’s survival in power would be in question.

If there is no ceasefire or peace ne gotiations, Russia does have means of serious escalation. It could defend the remaining occupied territories, while vastly intensifying attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure that have already begun. If Russia does annex the occupied territories, then it is pos sible that Putin may threaten nuclear strikes to defend what Moscow would then define as Russian sovereign ter ritory. As the Biden administration makes it increasingly obvious that it is changing the US One China policy, Russia can also hope that in response China will greatly increase military and financial aid.

In the meantime, as we are al ready seeing, unrest in Russian soci ety is bound to grow. This discontent is compounded by a mixture – often present at the same time in the minds of Russians – of opposition to the war itself and fury at the incompetence of its conduct by Putin and his entou

rage.

If this continues, then a coup against Putin will become a real pos sibility. This would not necessarily be violent, and might indeed not appear publicly at all. Instead, a delegation of establishment figures would go to Putin and tell him that, to preserve the regime itself, it is necessary for him (and a few other top figures impli cated in military failure, such as the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu) to step down, in return for guarantees of immunity from prosecution and secu rity of property. Something not unlike this happened when Yeltsin handed over power to Putin in 1999.

Members of the Russian establish ment who took such a step would be running grave risks: for themselves personally if the move failed, but also for the Russian establishment and Russia itself, if a change of leadership led to a split in the elite, political cha os and a radical weakening of the cen tral state.

They would, therefore, most proba bly need some assurance that if Putin could be removed, the West would be prepared to offer his successor a deal that would allow the new government to claim some measure of Russian suc cess. Otherwise, ruling over a weak ened state and military, and faced with what Russians would view as Western demands for unconditional surrender, the new government would assume the catastrophic burden of Weimar German democracy after the first world war, permanently branded as the regime of surrender and nation al humiliation.

Looking at this prospect, a succes sor to Putin would very likely blame him personally for everything that has gone wrong in Ukraine, while answering growing calls by Russian hardliners to declare complete nation al mobilisation and greatly intensify the war. This could spread the war be yond Ukraine’s borders. If we wish to avoid this prospect, there is still time for the West to take up Putin’s implic it offer of talks; but not much time.

(The Guardian)

Anatol Lieven is director of the Eurasia programme at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

World Tourism Day: Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) unveiled a mural at the Canawaima Ferry Terminal at Moleson Creek, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). The mural depicts Kaieteur Falls, Umana Yana, St George’s Cathedral, the national flags of Guyana and Suriname, and the Victoria Regia Lily (DPI photo)

Norton’s fight against this Government is racist, misplaced, confrontational

Dear Editor,

I read Sherwood Lowe’s response to Dr Tara Singh, Ravi Dev, and others who have urged Aubrey Norton to reach and transcend new boundaries, thereby reach ing out to all Guyanese in his fight with the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) for a better Guyana.

He is claiming that Norton’s fight against PPP is misunderstood, and that he is a leader of all the peo ple.

Dr Lowe then tells his readers what Norton is fighting for and against. Let me make it clear: I feel that Norton has been one of the Leaders of the Opposition APNU+AFC that are most confused, perplexed, divi sive and crass.

While Norton seeks to take the Opposition on a new path toward the Presidency, he is opening the old wounds of black dis crimination from the 50s to the early 90s.

Sadly, Norton does not do a good job, as he does not feel that the public is enti tled to know what evidence

he has to support his claims. This is the meat of the mat ter for Guyanese who have not experienced this ethnic discrimination for them selves.

Where is the empiri cal evidence? Lowe seeks to pour cold water on this by mentioning the things he believes are ignored, in stead of seeking to bring in stances and evidence to the fore.

Using the Black Lives Matter campaign is disin genuous, because they have evidence of every black life that is lost. They know the details of how and what led to that. They know for a fact whether it is systemic rac ism and discrimination, or whether it is outright rac ism. They can point to a whole pile of cases that oc curred over the years that are documented by author ities.

Norton still does not feel that he should have evi dence, and makes wild and outrageous claims against the PPP.

So, it is a shame that Lowe, someone who prides

himself on being an intel lectual, would stoop so low as to come to Norton’s de fence when he is drowning in his cesspool of discrim ination banter. The public is informed and intelligent enough now to know when Norton is gaffing, politick ing, and outrightly telling halfway truths.

Secondly, I believe Norton is a political racist. He appears to like the con cept of ethnic superiority. He sees the PPP through a racist lens. After all, some one who is a racist never ad mits that they are racist.

I assume that every time he speaks, Norton does not believe in any multiethnic approach being an active part of opposition politics. Maybe he does on paper, but his actions certainly do not. For instance, bringing an Afro-Guyanese woman into his parliamentary cir cle who said that she is only going to give jobs to people who are PNC supporters, and by extension black sup porters, can hardly be an example of this multiethnic approach.

Going only to black com munities in and outside of Guyana again can hardly be an indication of Norton’s broad national and mul tiethnic approach to poli tics. See PNC/APNU+AFC Facebook page for more ex amples.

Thirdly, I have not the slightest inclination to de fend the PPP’s wrong of cor ruption in office, but sure ly Lowe would have proven examples again of this cor ruption. Do not tell me of unproven accusations that were made against Bharrat Jagdeo and others. Where are the proven examples?

What did the Police state? Who was charged? Who was imprisoned? The entire nation is made much poorer as a people if you do not know or cannot say where the system to fight corruption is failing us.

Anyway, Norton should have at least fought against corruption from 2015 to 2020, but he chose to re main silent. I would have had more appreciation for the tales he tells now if I had heard him saying that

Citizens need to be aware of sexual predators, gender-based abusers

Dear Editor, The Caribbean Voice lauds the Government -- especially Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, and First Lady Arya Ali and her office -for the strides being made and for the plans that are to be implemented for the physically challenged com munity in Guyana.

In this context, isn’t it time for all public build ings to be made accessible to the disabled?

We also laud the University of Guyana, and more specifically Dr Paloma Mohamed, for pi oneering the step to intro duce a module on domestic violence prevention which would be available to the entire university commu nity. We sincerely hope every student would seize this opportunity to become part of the solution to this scourge.

However, we also join with the many who have expressed shock and dis appointment at UG’s as

sociation with alcohol pro motion and sale. While we do understand the need to garner funds, and rec ognise the significant role played by DDL in this re spect, both these entities must realise that this al cohol alliance is awful, and sends so many wrong messages. There is ur gent need to rethink and reframe that alliance, so that UG does not direct ly become a purveyor and promoter of alcohol sale and consumption.

As well, some years ago, UWI Lecturer Dr. Katija Khan informed The Caribbean Voice that she was involved as a con sultant in helping UG to implement a Masters in Psychology programme, following the introduction of the degree programme in Psychology. So, would it be possible for UG to in form on the status of that masters’ programme that has been in the works for years? It is moot to remind that one needs a minimum of a Masters in Psychology

along with at least one year of supervised clinical practice to be considered a Professional Clinical Counselor.

Meanwhile, we join with so many others in urging that the often-farci cal legal verdicts for those found guilty of acts of do mestic and sexual abuse need to be urgently ad dressed. Far too often, per petrators get away with little more than a slap on the wrist, and while we understand that each case is different and judges and magistrates interpret and apply the law as they see fit, surely such application should start with mini mum sentences that do not water down the serious ness of such crimes, nor result in head-scratching verdicts that seem so dis missive of the crimes com mitted.

Can the Honourable Minister Dr. Vindhya Persaud get with Attorney General and other cabinet members and related enti ties to provide the judicia

ry with guidelines in this respect? As it is, victims are already far too leery of the Police and the courts.

Perhaps, too, it’s time to finally launch that reg istry of sexual abusers, and also a registry of per petrators of gender-based violence and femicide, which is becoming a grow ing trend globally. The Childcare and Protection Agency was supposed to have launched a regis try of child sexual abus ers years ago, and The Caribbean Voice had also been informed that one for adult sexual abusers was also being planned. Isn’t it much more logical and con venient to simply have one registry?

Citizens need to be aware of both sexual pred ators and gender-based abusers when such per sons enter their communi ties, so that they can raise the alert level and become proactive.

Respectfully, Annan Boodram

it was wrong to use exces sive funds to build the de teriorating Durban Park, and the funds were being si phoned off, but he did not. The $50 million used to pay for tickets for Buju Banton is wrong, but he chose to stay quiet.

Maybe Norton would care to seek the corruption charges from peers about the finances of Congress Place and the Office of the Leader of the Opposition?

In dealing with corrup tion or allegations made, Norton cannot afford to be selective and politically ne glectful. Wrong is always wrong, and right is always right. Neither should be made to wear clothes or a political façade.

Lowe's defence of Norton is nothing short of criminal, and is an affront to all who possess the skills of discern ment and common sense.

Finally, I believe Norton has to start practising what Congress Place wants us to think: that he is for all for Guyana and is inclusive. We know differently, but that is not the issue here.

At the end of the day, Norton has fought a good fight for his political sup per, but if right-think ing Guyanese were to ex amine his policies, actions and words, they would get the unmistakable impres sion that he is divisive, per plexed, confrontational and racist.

His way of doing things and handling each political situation is misplaced from a geopolitical, ethnic and economic standpoint, but I do not expect the so-called intellectuals and schemers to tell him that to his face, much less here in the letter pages.

I am for “One Guyana”. I am supportive of strong and truthful politics, and do not pander to racial politics when it suits my aim.

Who is the real Leader of the Opposition? It can’t be Norton, from what I know at UG. Norton is too long in the game to be making these foolish and predictable mis takes again and again.

Yours truly, Michael Younge

Page Foundation

Points and lines

A point is a specific location in space. It has no dimensions, and you cannot measure it. Since it would be impossible to see anything with no dimensions, we usually re present a point with a dot. Points are usually identified by a capital letter.

You can identify a line in either direction. Line AB = Line BA.

Some lines intersect. Intersecting lines cross each other at a specific point. Line AB and Line CD intersect at point E.

What you need water plaster of paris neon tempera paint silicone pop moulds wooden craft sticks, cut in half disposable cups and spoons

What you do

1. Chill water in the refrigerator for 30 mi nutes. Then put 1/3 cup cold water in each dis posable cup.

2. Add 2 tablespoons of tempera paint to each cup. Stir gently with disposable spoons to mix.

3. Add 2/3 cup plaster of paris to each cup. Stir until combined.

4. Pour the contents of each cup into a silico ne mould. After two minutes, place a craft stick in the centre of each.

5. Set aside to dry in the sun for 24 hours. Your chalk pops are now ready for use.

A line is a straight path that goes in both directions and never ends. It has only one dimension –length. However, when we draw a line, it actually has a tiny bit of width – the width of a pencil point – or we would not be able to see it!

A line can be identified by any two points located anywhere on it.

Remember

A line extends in both directi ons. It does not come to an end in either direction. Its only dimension is length.

Exercises: Solve

1) Use a symbol to name this figure

2) Identify the following figure

4) What is the point of intersection?

CAUTION: Do not put plaster of paris down the drain! Throw it in the trash. According to Britannica, plaster of paris, quick-setting gyp sum plaster consisting of a fine white powder (calcium sulphate hemihydrate), which hardens when moistened and allowed to dry. Known sin ce ancient times, plaster of paris is so called be cause of its preparation from the abundant gyp sum found near Paris. (rangerrick.org)

3) Using symbols, give two names for this figure

5) Is DB in the figure above a line? Explain your answer.

6) Is the following a line? Explain your answer.

By The BroThers Grimm

CONTINUED FROM WEDNESDAY

BE CONTINUED

GECOM tells APNU/AFC it has no jurisdiction to investigate unlawful acts

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Wednesday main tained that allegations of un lawful acts during an elec tion can only be determined by a court of law, in the wake of calls by the main political Opposition for the commis sion to investigate such alle gations.

In a statement on Tuesday, GECOM Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward responded to these calls by explaining that according to Article 163 (1bi) of the Constitution, only the High Court has this jurisdic tion.

“Recently, there have been numerous public pronounce ments calling for GECOM to conduct internal investiga tions into allegations of elec toral fraud that were report ed to have occurred during the 2nd March, 2020 General and Regional Elections.

“In this regard, it is of crucial importance to note that Article 163 (1bi) of the Constitution of Guyana stip ulates that “subject to the provisions of this article, the High Court shall have exclu sive jurisdiction to determine any question whether – ei ther generally or in any par ticular place, an election has been lawfully conducted or the result thereof has been or might have been, affected by any unlawful act or omis sion,” Ward highlighted.

She acknowledged that correspondence listing the names of persons who were

allegedly either deceased or out of the jurisdiction on the date of the elections were in deed received from the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition during the national recount. These lists were sent to the Registrar General and Chief Immigration Officer respec tively for verification.

“However, notwithstand ing this action having been taken, GECOM could not have taken any further action in this matter, since to do so would have been in contra vention of Article 163 of the Constitution.

“The fact that the national recount had established that more votes were cast in favour of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), the onus was on the APNU+AFC to file an election petition to de termine the validity of the allegations of unlawful acts such as voter impersonation,” Ward said in the release.

In light of this, she re minded all stakeholders, but particularly the political par ties, that GECOM’s opera tions continue to be guided by

the Constitution and the rel evant laws for the conduct of registration and elections.

Last week, APNU/AFC through its Chief Scrutineer, Carol Joseph had sent a letter to GECOM seeking an inves tigation into and public dis closure of alleged voter imper sonation at the 2020 General and Regional Elections.

In the letter, the Opposition makes a number of demands when it comes to the probe into voter fraud at the last election. For one, it demanded that all informa tion on voter impersonation be forwarded to the Police and the General Registration Officer. Additionally, it de manded that any verified re ports of voter impersonation be publicly released.

The party had also called for GECOM to do an internal probe into the matter, which it claim the electoral body had discontinued in 2020, as well as take steps to prevent any potential voter imperson ation in the future.

Debunked However, GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj

has debunked this, and not ed that the elections body did convey all the names APNU/ AFC submitted to it, to the relevant authorities for verifi cation. Moreover, Gunraj has pointed out the legal impossi bility of GECOM doing inves tigations 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 claims of rigging at the 2020 elections, not withstanding efforts by the Opposition-nominated com missioners to block this.

In a previous edition of his programme “Issues in the News”, Nandlall had pointed out that back in 2020, when APNU/AFC first made its er roneous claims, the PPP/C did investigations 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 jurisdiction or dead.

In fact, at the time many of these persons had come for

ward to protest against and dispute APNU/AFC’s claims. This publication published several such persons, who had been accused by the then ruling party of being either dead or out of the jurisdiction, when their vote was recorded.

During a previous Office of the Leader of the Opposition press conference, howev er, 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 in formation be verified. (G3)

…says only court of law can determine election illegalities

Man found not guilty of machine operator’s murder

Twenty-six-year-old Rayon Carter was found not guilty on Wednesday by a 12-member jury of the murder of machine operator Ishwar Ramanah.

The man of Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD), was on trial before Justice Jo-Ann Barlow at the Demerara High Court for the capital of fence of murder, to which he pleaded not guilty. Carter denied killing Ramanah on January 13, 2018.

in March 2021 before Justice Navindra Singh, but the jury was unable to arrive at a ver dict.

Police had stated that Ramanah was shot in his ab domen during a robbery at his home on December 13, 2017, by one of two armed bandits.

He was rushed to the Diamond hospital, where he was treated before be ing transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

However, he succumbed to his injuries on January 13, 2018. (G9)

The buzz…

…on GAW cricket

By the time you read this missive, dear reader, you’ll know whether the Warriors have moved into the playoffs against the Royals. Your Eyewitness had already asserted they’re going forward - so all that’s new is we now know they’ll be facing the Jamaica Tallawahs. And knowing that in this League we just can’t take anything for granted – we gotta remember that we split with them during the regular season – your Eyewitness hopes our Warriors are just waiting to take out their Royal-induced angst against the Jamaicans!!! That’s gotta be SOME motivation!!

They gotta forget any sympathy they may have for the Tallawahs, because the owner (Krish Persaud) and Head Coach (Shivnarine Chanderpaul) are Guyanese!! Right now, they’ve chosen to represent - and even lead – Jamaica, who’re standing in their way to their first championship. Can’t have THAT, can we?!! So, as far as your Eyewitness is concerned - to paraphrase another Guyanese - you can easier stop tomorrow that stop the Warriors’ inexorable march towards their destiny!!

So, right now, he wants to look at the bigger picture through a cricketing lens. There’s been some chatter that the unity and bonhomie shown by our GAW players towards each another aren’t really significant as far as our national ethos is concerned. That conclusion’s so off that it ain’t even funny !! It’s reflective of the question a great cricket analyst once posed to their ilk: “What do they know of cricket that only cricket knows!!??” Meaning, what goes down on the cricket field is only one aspect of what cricket’s all about!! The most important features lie “beyond the boundary”!!

Then some may scoff that the GAW is just a “franchise” team, and many of the players are “foreigners”. But what’s a “nation” in the modern world – including our Guyanese nation?? Isn’t it all about standing up to represent that nation?? Have the critics not seen the foreign players give their all for our cause?? Have they not seen Tahir, for instance, acknowledging his allegiance to the fans by kissing the Guyana flag on his uniform?? While these “foreign” players are representing Guyana, they BECOME Guyanese!!

But to turn our gaze to the fans in the stands brings out the most important lesson of our cricket – one that your Eyewitness has made from the beginning of the tournament. A nation is brought together by nothing more than an outside “threat” of any type!! It becomes “us” against “them” – with the “us” being us Guyanese as ONE!! Listen - all families will have their squabbles and spats – but when the chips are down, they’ll stand as one!!

And right now, that’s the lesson that President Ali’s emphasising when he turns out to the ball game and sits with the fans.

We’re all One Guyana!!

…gone from politics

If you really needed additional confirmation of the place of Warriors’ cricket in the Guyanese nation, have you noticed that even the political sniping has evaporated and the players of that nasty game have had to lie low since that first game at Providence?? Whatever else politicians might be, they know well enough that even if they speak one-onone with their constituents – much less outsiders – at best, they MIGHT get some polite nods and a fixed smile!

Guyanese just won’t be listening to anything right now but Warrior Cricket!! Maybe that’s why the LoO chose to campaign in Canada during this period!! Discretion’s always the better part of valour!!

The business community bent to the gale force cricket sentiment and called for a holiday on Tuesday. They simply signalled their acknowledgement – especially the ones from Georgetown - that whatever they said, a significant chunk of their employees would call in sick to be at the game!!

…from the Cricket Carnival

As you know, your Eyewitness had some doubts about the “Cricket Carnival” when it was floated. His concern was the “carnival” would clash with the “cricket”.

But scheduling the early events in the periphery defused that!!

expressed

The

Readers

send

He was represented by Attorney-at-Law Konyo

Sandiford while Prosecutor Latifah Elliot represented the State. After deliberating

on Wednesday, the jury gave a not-guilty verdict. The case was first tried

Dead: Ishwar Ramanah Freed: Rayon Carter

IMF projects Guyana’s economic growth rate for 2022 at 57% …higher than Finance Ministry forecast

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that Guyana would achieve a growth rate of over 57 per cent in 2022, a slight increase from what the country’s Finance Ministry had projected at the half-year mark.

According to the IMF in its statement on the conclu sion of its Article IV consulta tion with Guyana, which was released on Tuesday, Guyana is expected to experience a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 57.8 per cent this year.

Additionally, the IMF noted that oil GDP would grow by over 100 per cent in 2022, and by 30 per cent on average annually between 2023 and 2026. The strength of this growth is testament to the fact that Guyana’s com mercially recoverable petro leum reserves are expected to reach over 11 billion barrels. This, according to the IMF, is one of the highest levels per capita in the world.

“This could help Guyana build up substantial fiscal and external buffers to absorb shocks, while addressing in frastructure gaps and human development needs,” the IMF executives said in their state ment.

“Main downside risks to the outlook include volatility

in global oil prices; a slowing global economy; or rapid in creases in investment, which could lead to macroeconom ic imbalances; while upside risks include higher global oil prices and additional gas and oil discoveries.”

In the Mid-Year Report released by the Finance Ministry this year, Guyana’s real GDP had been shown to grow by 36.4 per cent for the first half of 2022, and had been projected to grow by 56 per cent overall for 2022.

Guyana reaching over 11 billion barrels of recoverable petroleum reserves is due to the start-up of the Liza Phase 2 development, with the Liza Unity floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel already producing oil. Payara, the third develop ment in the Stabroek block, is expected to start up next year.

ExxonMobil has said it antici pates that at least six projects offshore Guyana would be on line by 2027.

So far, Exxon’s total investment in Guyana is Gy$1.3 trillion on its own, and over Gy$3 trillion with its partners. Additionally, the joint-venturers’ explora tion and production plans up to 2025 would likely increase their investments to more than Gy$6 trillion.

Non-oil GDP growth

Meanwhile, non-oil GDP growth was recorded at 9.6 per cent at the half-way mark. The report further elaborated that the agriculture, forest ry and fishing sectors are es timated to have expanded by 10.9 per cent in the first six months of 2022.

These figures were driven by higher production from the other crops, forestry and live stock sectors, in spite of weak er performances in the sug ar, rice and fishing industries. The sector is now expected to grow by 11.9 per cent.

With respect to mining and quarrying sectors, these are estimated to have grown by 64.6 per cent in the first half of the year, with a revised 2022 forecast of 99.9 per cent driven by growth in the petro leum and other mining indus tries.

“The petroleum sector ex panded by an estimated 73.5 per cent, with 34.6 million barrels of oil produced in the first half of the year. This was the result of the commence ment of oil production at the Liza Unity FPSO in February.

“Also on the upside, the bauxite industry is estimat ed to have grown by 31.9 per cent, and the other mining and quarrying (sand, stone, diamonds, manganese) in dustries by 36.3 per cent in

the first half of 2022,” the Ministry said.

According to the report, the manufacturing sector is estimated to have contract ed by 11.4 per cent in the first half of the year. The manufac turing sector is now project ed to grow by 7.5 per cent for 2022.

The service industries are meanwhile estimated to have expanded by 7.6 per cent, driven largely by increases in wholesale and retail trade, and transport and storage. The overall 2022 growth rate for the services sector is now

forecasted to be 6.3 per cent.

“The construction sector is estimated to have grown by a strong 20.4 per cent in the first half of 2022, reflect ing intensified activity in both the public and private sec tors,” the Ministry had also explained.

Liza Unity FPSO oil leak

Assessment team’s report will determine “course of action” – EPA Head

the oil slick (a film or layer of oil floating on an expanse of water) and to calculate the volume of the spill.

“To date, that vol ume is making up to what Exxon reported. In fact, it was slightly under one bar rel of oil. There is a meth odology… based on the slick size and area of the slick, and the calculation is used to estimate the volume. So, the volume spilled was con firmed as they reported,” the EPA Head explained.

EPA Executive Director Kemraj Parsram

Almost four weeks af ter it was announced that the Liza Unity FPSO vessel had expe rienced an oil leak, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is yet to com plete its report on the inci dent; but according to EPA Executive Director Kemraj Parsram, the team has been able to gather critical infor mation.

Parsram told Guyana Times on Wednesday that the assessment team had travelled offshore to where the Liza Unity vessel is pumping oil in the Stabroek Block in order to investigate and conduct interviews on board that vessel. He said the team was able to use inhouse monitoring capabili ties in using satellite imag ery to determine the size of

Parsram noted that the full findings of the investi gation would be made pub lic once the team completes and hands over its final re port. This, according to him, should be done in the com ing days.

“We don’t want to go out sharing information piecemeal. We want to do a complete assessment,” he explained.

The EPA Head further posited that, based on the findings and recommenda tions in the report, it would be determined whether or not any action would be taken against the oil major over the incident.

“It depends on the scale of the situation; the report and the findings will de termine the course of ac tion. It’s not automatically that you’ll say, ‘Oh, because a barrel of oil was spilled’ that you’d take stringent measures immediately. It

Dion Bascom’s charges

has to be informed by the findings [of the assessment team] and the applica ble laws, as well as the re quirements in the permits. So, as part of the investiga tion and the report, the rec ommendations will include as to what actions can or will be taken,” Parsram ex plained.

United States oil gi ant ExxonMobil had report ed that, on September 9, the team on the Liza Unity FPSO observed a sheen on the water in the vicini ty of the vessel. “Initial in vestigations indicate that approximately one barrel of crude oil was released during a maintenance ac tivity on the vessel. The activity was immediately stopped and the leak isolat ed…additional surveillance by helicopter confirmed that

there was no sheen in the area; only a light sheen was perceptible approximately 20km (13 miles) northwest of the vessel. By midday on September 10th, a support vessel in the area confirmed no further sign of a sheen,” the oil major had disclosed.

The EPA, along with other relevant Government agencies, was immediately notified of the incident. At the time, Parsram had ex plained that the spill was not from the production well itself, but was from an offloading hose on the Unity PFSO that was used to transfer the oil onto a tank er. There has since not been a recurrence of this incident on the Liza Unity, the sec ond FPSO vessel to operate offshore, which only started production in March.

With the exception of

flaring activities, there has never been a serious mis hap in the oil-rich Stabroek Block since oil production commenced in December 2019.

Nevertheless, Exxon has, throughout the year, been doing training ses sions aimed at improving response capabilities. Only last month, a two-day emer gency response training ex ercise was conducted for staff of Exxon’s local sub sidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL). The ar eas that the training cov ered included responses to different levels of crisis in EEPGL’s offshore activi ties, such as oil spills. A fi nal training session is slat ed for this year-end.

Meanwhile, there is also a National Oil Spill Contingency Plan which was handed over in October 2020 by the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips. The plan was months in the making, and involved the input of many key stake holders, including the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Guyana Defence Force

(GDF), and the Civil Defence Commission (CDC). The National Emergency Oil Spill Plan was crafted with valuable inputs from the Guyana Marine Conservation Society, Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission, the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Shipping Association of Guyana, ExxonMobil, Tullow, GuyOil, Repsol, Shell, GAICO Construction, and other stakeholders.

The United States has also been providing tacti cal and operational support to Guyana when it comes to advancing and fortifying Guyana’s national response to oil spills. In June, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) provided a recap on the series of training and support provided to 231 per sons from over 30 agencies by the United States Coast Guard in building capaci ty to handle such matters. From June 2021 to April 2022, these efforts have ad dressed gaps in Guyana’s management of any oil spill.

Exxon is the opera tor and holds 45 per cent interest in the Stabroek Block, with Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holding 30 per cent interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holding the re maining 25 per cent inter est.

Magistrate gives Police Legal Advisor 24hrs to produce video evidence

…or be sent to prison for contempt of court, was never remanded

Magistrate Leron Daly has giv en Police Legal Advisor Mandel Moore 24 hours to produce a piece of video evidence in relation to Police Sergeant Dion Bascom’s court case, or be sent to prison for contempt of the court.

The video requested by the court is from a press conference hosted by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) following the damning al legations made by Bascom; in particular, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum’s de bunking of the claims made by Bascom in regard to his covering up of the probe into the murder of Ricardo “Paper Shorts” Fagundes.

Moore had previously been ordered by Magistrate Daly to produce the vid eo evidence, but when he showed up at the court on Wednesday, he failed to do so. It was then that the magistrate threatened that if he does not obey her or ders, he could be sent to

prison for contempt of the court. As such, an oral un dertaking to have the evi dence presented to the court by Thursday at 11:00h was agreed upon. The video evi dence is needed in prepara tion for the commencement of trial of the matter, which is set for November 9.

Bascom has been placed on $300,000 bail by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan when he ap peared in that Georgetown Magistrate’s Court slapped with three cybercrime -re lated charges alleging that, twice between August 13 and August 19, he used a computer system to trans mit electronic data with the intent to humiliate, ha rass, or cause distress to Superintendent Mitchell Caesar; and of allegedly do ing same to Superintendent Chabinauth Singh on one occasion.

Sergeant Bascom was among several persons ar rested by the Customs AntiNarcotics Unit (CANU) on

August 8, after a quanti ty of cocaine was discov ered at a house on Norton Street, Georgetown.

While a charge for traf ficking in narcotics was laid against some of the persons, none was laid against Sergeant Bascom. Seemingly angered by his arrest, Sergeant Bascom subsequently made sev eral Facebook live videos in which he made damn ing allegations of corrup tion against several se nior Police detectives and prominent businessman Azruddin Mohamed.

Bascom has alleged that Police ranks have accept ed bribes and are “covering up” the murder of Ricardo Fagundes, called “Paper Shorts”. Police are yet to charge the perpetrators. He later deleted the posts out of fear for his family members’ lives.

Acting Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken and Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum have al

ready debunked Sergeant Bascom’s allegations, call ing them “malicious and untrue”, and Government had solicited the assistance of the Regional Security System (RSS) to investi gate the claims made by Sergeant Bascom.

The RSS, in pronounc ing on the matter, made it clear that there was no evidence to substantiate Sergeant Bascom’s claims. The team also found that

the two live recordings made by Bascom were in contravention of Section 19 (5) (a) of the Cyber Crime Act.

Businessman Mohamed, who from the outset had distanced himself from the allegations, has since filed a $200 million defamation lawsuit against Sergeant Bascom, in which he con tended in his Statement of Claim that the words and statements uttered

by Bascom are all untrue, false, dangerous, disingen uous, malicious, irrational, unfair, unsubstantiated, unfounded, and baseless, thereby tarnishing and lowering his reputation.

Superintendent Caesar, through his lawyer, had threatened to take legal action against Sergeant Bascom if he did not re move the posts and offer him an apology and $50 million compensation.

Police Sergeant, Deon Bascom Police Legal Advisor, Mandell Moore

Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum

Twinning CPL with Carnival brought unsurmountable benefits to Guyanese – Walrond

The Caribbean Premier League (CPL), consid ered the biggest sport ing event in the region, is in full swing, and Guyana’s hosting of the finals is creat ing a ripple effect of benefits for thousands of locals.

Tourism, Industry and Commerce Ministry Oneidge Walrond has expressed that the revenue generated by large establishments is quite visible from this year’s CPL tournament, and at the same time, thousands of Guyanese are latently bene fiting as well.

According to her, Government’s role in host ing the finals in Guyana, coupled with the strategic Carnival events, has been carefully crafted to ensure revenue streams trickle

down to the common man.

“While many persons would understandably see the conspicuous investments in CPL on the part of big businesses - such as the CPL league itself, the headline

sponsors and major entities around the tournamentthere is an unsung story and untold script features thou sands of Guyanese who have been able to derive benefits from the staging of this tour nament,” she has said.

“Our commitment to se curing the rights of the CPL finals was part of a strate gy for this inclusive devel opment. We had our sight set not only on the primary revenue streams associated with cricket itself, but cap turing wider benefits that such an event could bring to

a broad cross-section of or dinary people in many sec tors,” Minister Walrond has shared.

She has noted that Government’s approach to social and economic develop

4 juvenile murder accused escape from Sophia Holding Centre …use unattended keys to exit facility

Four juveniles who are accused of mur der escaped from the Sophia Holding Centre on separate occasions last week, and Police have since been tight-lipped on the issue.

While details on the escape remain sketchy, Guyana Times was informed that last Wednesday around midday, three teens – two boys and a girl – escaped from the Juvenile Holding Centre while the other teen escaped two days lat er.

A source close to the in vestigation told this publi cation that on Wednesday the three teens escaped from the holding centre’s classroom, using keys that were left on a table in the classroom.

After taking the keys, the trio reported ly opened the door of the classroom, jumped over a

fence, and fled. An alarm was raised when the teens were missed, but by then some time had elapsed. Searches by law enforce ment officers proved fu tile.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, another teen who was remanded for murder escaped while in solitary confinement. Sources said the teen es caped after taking the keys that were left unat tended.

The escapees have not been recaptured, and the Guyana Police Force has not said anything on the matter.

In April 2021, seven juveniles made a run for freedom from the Sophia Holding Centre.

Police said after the es cape an alarm was raised and quick response by law enforcement led to the re capturing of four of the es capees. Two still remain

on the run.

In 2020, 13 teenag ers escaped from the Juvenile Holding Centre after attacking two Police Officers, who were on guard duty at the time.

The teens, who were housed in cell two and who had matters ranging from armed robbery to rape and murder, broke out of their cells and attacked the security personnel, who were guarding the en trance of the building.

During the attack, the unarmed Police Officers were relieved of the keys to some of the other cells after which the juveniles sprinted from the facility.

An alarm was raised, and a search was conduct ed in nearby communities where five of the teens were recaptured and tak en back to the facility.

The other teenagers were later recaptured. (G9)

ment places the country at the cutting edge of rethink ing tourism, especially as it relates to inclusion. While the vision to host the finals and the potential opportuni ties may not have been rec ognised in the initial stage, Walrond said, the outcome is now evident.

“Our Government was instrumental in pursing and supporting Guyana’s bid to host the finals of the CPL. Pursing this opportunity re quired courage and vision, for when we did so, the po tential benefits were not ap parent to most people. We, however, had our eyes on the fundamentals of the sit uation. We were confident in

the science underlying vac cination. We saw progress in vaccination in the region and the wider world. And we saw undeniable signs that the world was well on its way to managing the pan demic,” she relayed.

The Tourism Minister added that work has been done in every administrative region to market Guyana as a tourism destination, and scores of small business es have capitalised on such projects.

“You will find that we’ve supported tourism develop ment efforts in every region of Guyana, and that we’ve supported hundreds of small business owners from all

sections of society. I would emphasise that our commit ment to inclusion is mani fested in our programmes in every sector: in education, agriculture, health, in tour ism and all others,” she has posited.

Guyana will, for the first time ever, be host ing the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) final match es, having secured a con tract in this regard for three seasons (years): 2022, 2023 and 2024. Guyana’s twoweek hosting period has also interconnected with the Carnival Cricket festivities, which will culminate with the Road Parade on Sunday. (G12)

Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Oneidge Walrond

The Regional Food Festival was one of the Cricket Carnival events (Cricket Carnival 592 photo)

Tourism Minister Oneidge Walrond along with delegates of the Miss Cricket Carnival pageant. Miss Guyana crowed queen

#33, Amazon Warriors versus the Guyana National Stadium

EMC Foundation fosters awareness of Guyana's unique ecosystems

can create a lasting impact on young minds.

According to Samaroo, "One of EMC Foundation's main goals is to connect young, creative minds while highlighting the importance of the environment. As an art enthusiast myself, I can think of no better way to get engaged than by getting your hands a little messy with vibrant colours while learning about the beauty of our natural world."

Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Kemraj Parsram, has been encouraged by the interactions with the young participants. He had this to say: "With increased de velopment and the impacts that come with it, it is im

To raise awareness of Guyana's unique eco systems and the vital role they play in support ing biodiversity, the EMC Foundation has created an avenue for the younger gen eration to understand the environment.

Established by Shyam Nokta, winner of the 2022 Anthony N Sabga Award for Entrepreneurship, the Foundation aims to support environmental awareness and education in Guyana by promoting activities which encourage greater under standing of the environ ment, create a network to connect like-minded people, and provide opportunities to experience Guyana's rich natural environment.

A paint-mixer was re cently organised to this ef fect, and it resulted in re

sounding success. In his comments, Nokta said, "A picture paints a thousand words. Creative activities like painting inspire young people to reflect on their ideas and understanding of the environment, and ex press them in unique ways. The colourful images are fun to create, and convey pow erful messages that encour age a greater awareness, appreciation, and love for Guyana's ecosystems and biodiversity, and motivate the younger generation to protect them."

More than thirty chil dren between eight and twelve years old were guid ed through marine and ter restrial themes by talented Guyanese artists.

Zoya Samaroo, an artist and one of the Foundation's coordinators, knows how art

After days of re porting zero cas es, COVID-19 infec tions are picking up, with an additional nine cases surfacing on Wednesday.

Currently, active pos itives account for just over 80 of the 71,331 confirmed cases to date. The num ber of reported deaths still stands at 1281, according to the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, no one is being treated at the Intensive Care Unit of the Hospital, but there are four persons in institutional isolation, 81 in home iso lation, and two in institu tional quarantine.

Additionally, 69,965 to tal recoveries have been counted.

Currently, Guyana has processed almost 700,000 samples for the virus.

A new report pub lished by the World Health Organization (WHO) has shown that the global prev alence of anxiety and de pression increased by 25 per cent in the first year of the pandemic alone. In the Americas, however, COVID-19 exacerbated an

already critical issue. The region faces increasing suicide rates, with some countries experiencing the highest suicide rates in the world.

Mental health services have been chronically un derfinanced in the region, with resources directed only to mental institutions rather than to first level of care within the communi ty. There is frequently also a lack of qualified health professionals, and stig ma and discrimination are common barriers to care, in addition to policies that fail to promote and protect the human rights of persons with mental health prob lems.

In 2022, PAHO also established a High-Level Commission on Mental Health and COVID-19 to support member states in improving and strengthen ing mental health across the Americas.

In Guyana, the Mental Health Protection and Promotion Bill 2022 was passed in the National Assembly in August of this year. Enshrined in the law

is a series of rights for men tal health patients, includ ing access to care.

According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) figures, some 612 million confirmed cas es were reported glob ally, along with 6.5 mil lion deaths. In the Region of the Americas, that is, Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased to 178 mil lion, while the death toll in the region has gone up to 2.8 million.

Symptoms of corona virus infection include fe ver, cough, tiredness, diar rhoea, pains, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell. The more serious symp toms are difficulty breath ing or shortness of breath, chest pain, and loss of speech or movement. If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms associat ed with COVID-19, or need any additional informa tion, they are asked to con tact the COVID-19 Hotline: 231-1166, 226-7480, or 6246674 immediately, or visit www.health.gov.gy. (G12)

portant that we continue ed ucating the younger gener ation and bringing them up to become the future custo dians of Guyana's environ ment."

The focus of the Foundation is to provide op portunities, especially for young people, to interact with nature and the envi ronment, so that they can develop greater awareness, appreciation, and love for Guyana's ecosystems and biodiversity. The turnout at the paint-mixer demonstrat ed how eager the younger generation is to contribute to efforts to protect them.

"It is important to in vest in children's creative capacities. They are the gen eration for whom Guyana is conserving its nature… It is wonderful to see them learning and being cre ative about the environ ment," said Yesim Oruç, the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Guyana.

Public Service Minister Sonia Parag added, “To in volve children in environ mental protection is com mendable and necessary, because they will be the leaders in a few years. They will be the ones who push to protect our earth."

The paint-mixer fol lows the EMC Foundation's scavenger hunt that was held on August 26 to raise awareness of the environ ment; it saw more than for ty young people converge at the Botanical Gardens.

Children participating in the awareness event through a painting segment

Men busted with ganja, firearm in boat

Ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) on Tuesday arrested two men after a quantity of marijuana and a firearm with ammunition were found in a boat in which they were passengers.

The discovery was made along the Manarabisi Canal in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), and CANU has said that when its officers intercepted the speed boat, it was occupied by two adult males and a minor. The boat was searched in the presence of the occupants, and several parcels of suspected narcotics and one shotgun with 16 live cartridges were found there in.

The two adult suspects – Suraj Singh, 30, of Lot 69 Section B, No.72 Village, Corentyne; and Mourice Vansluytman, 55, of Lot 18 Section A, No.70 Village, Corentyne – were arrest ed and escorted to CANU Headquarters, along with the suspected narcotics and shotgun with ammunition. The narcotics tested posi

tive for cannabis, and had a total weight of 126 kilo grammes (277.7 pounds). Investigations are ongoing.

According to CANU, this operation is part of its efforts to reduce the flow of narcot ics being trafficked out of the Berbice river district to Suriname. The CANU offi cers have carried out sur veillance activities in several main drainage canals in the Corentyne district in an oper ation that lasted for a period of two days. Only last week end, CANU agents arrest ed three persons, including a teenager, after they were busted with more than 200 pounds of marijuana during separate operations.

On Friday, the officers conducted an operation at Young and Restless Street in De Kinderen, West Coast Demerara (WCD), where they intercepted a young man car rying a haversack. A search of the haversack revealed several transparent Ziplock bags containing suspect ed cannabis. Consequently, 19-year-old Errol Latchoo of Meter-Meer-Zorg, WCD was arrested and escorted to CANU Headquarters, where the narcotics tested posi tive for cannabis with a total weight of 118 grams.

Meanwhile, anoth er group of CANU ranks on Friday intercepted Oneil Lampkin, 31, of Sheet

Anchor, East Canje, Berbice under the Canje Bridge with a small quantity of canna bis in his possession. The suspect was then escorted to his home, where the offi cers searched the property and the surrounding bushes and unearthed two large par cels containing cannabis hid den in the bushes. Lampkin

was arrested and taken to CANU Headquarters, along with the narcotics – all of which weighed about 47.5 ki lograms.

On Saturday, CANU ranks intercepted Route 50 mini bus BXX 6792 on the Beterverwagting Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara, and a search of

the vehicle unearthed several parcels of cannabis. The driv er, 58-year-old Lal Bahadur Byjoo of Plantation Hope, Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice (WCB), who was the lone occupant of the bus, was arrested, and the canna bis found weighed 54.2 kilo grammes. Investigations are ongoing. (G8)

The narcotics and firearm found in the suspects’ boat

GTA laying foundation to boost tourism in Region 6

As part of the Government’s efforts to enhance Guyana’s tourism products, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) is working continu ously to improve tourism in Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne.

The purpose of the initia tive is to encourage domestic tourism by promoting visits to local sites across Guyana.

GTA Training and Tourism Development Officer Chetnauth Persaud underscored, “There are so many other things that are coming in the pipeline. And once time permits and all these Cricket Carnival ac tivities are over with, we’ll definitely gonna come down to Region Six to start mov ing more and more into tour ism.”

He was at the time speaking at the unveil ing of the tourism mural at the Guyana-Suriname fer

ry port at Moleson Creek, Corentyne, on Tuesday.

“We have so much more things coming to Berbice. So, don’t worry, this is just the start of it. And we’ll continue to give support to our Region Six partners, our tourism committee,” he is quoted as

saying in a Department of Public Information (DPI) re port.

Persaud encouraged ev eryone to continue being tourism ambassadors by showcasing all Guyana has to offer. He said ambassa dors could share photos, vid eos, and positive informa

tion about Guyana, keeping a clean environment, and educate themselves about the various products of the country.

Speaking to the DPI on the sidelines of the event, GTA Training and Licensing Manager, Tamika Inglis highlighted that the Moleson Creek ferry port was select ed as the ideal spot for the mural since it was a tourism site.

“What we try to do is do activities in every region. So, this was selected because we wanted to have something not so difficult…It (the mu ral) was done before World Tourism Day , but we were thinking what activities we can have in Berbice for World Tourism Day. And this one was selected for this event.

“We just wanted some thing to commemorate World Tourism Day. But how does it represent Guyana? And I think this mural does justice to Guyana, culture wise,” she said.

Inglis noted that the mu ral could assist to boost tour ism in Guyana since tourists may inquire about the vari ous elements within the mu ral.

“So, when persons come and they see the beautiful mural, they may be interest ed and intrigued by the de sign…where can I be a part of this. Where can I explore Guyana by looking at this beautiful mural? That’s why we try to depict so many things within the mural… We capture everything, so everybody can have a chance to see something.”

By doing this, she ex plained that tourists would return to explore and enjoy Guyana.

“We’re connected with the port and the terminal so anybody can call the Guyana Tourism Authority, and ev erybody there will be willing and able to say ‘these are the places you can go’, these are the ‘tour operators’ or ‘these are the tour guides that you can connect with, to enjoy the beauty of Guyana’.”

World Tourism Day was celebrated under the theme “Rethinking tourism”.

The integration of the mural at the ferry port will greatly support the devel opment and maintenance of cultural identity, long-term economic growth, and the creation of a feeling of com munity.

Mother holds on to hope after being told child does not have long to live

Afterbeing told almost two years ago that she will soon lose her child because of a rear ill ness, a mother still holds on to hope.

Hope, faith or a miracle; what we may individually call it, a 24-year-old West Coast Berbice, Region Five woman is holding on after doctors gave up on her now two-year-old infant Natalia Douglas, who has been di agnosed with Macrocephaly -a condition in which the cir cumference of the human head is abnormally large.

This is considered as a rear nervous disorder. Yogeeta Chandrapaul said that medically nothing can be done.

“She has hydrocepha lus (an abnormal buildup of fluid in the ventricles [cavi ties] deep within the brain) where there is fluid around the brain and she is just liv ing a normal lifestyle; she is not getting any treatment or anything. The doctors said that if they do a surgery, it would be a very risky one and if they try to operate, she might collapse.”

Back in March last year when this publication first reported on this issue, Chandrapaul said that doc tors told her nothing can be done because she has a huge amount of fluid in the child’s head. She had also revealed that an MRI scan, and the

scan showed that the brain was occupying less than 20 percent of the infant’s head. She also said she was told that the issue can be recti fied only through surgery but doctors are not optimis tic that the surgery would be successful.

Now Chandrapaul says she is just holding on to hopes.

“The scan showed that she has less than 20 per cent is brain and Dr Dukhi (a neurosurgeon) say that he did surgeries with chil dren with less than 25 per cent and they don’t normal ly survive. So, that is why he is saying that I should enjoy the most I can with her right now because it could be fatal

at any time. At this point I would accept any sort of as sistance,” she said.

According to the mother of two, whenever she takes her baby to the Georgetown Hospital Clinic, while the staff give her good advice, her spirit is damper.

“They would always tell me that I have to be very careful because she can start deteriorating at a fast rate and I have to be very careful. With her at home every day, she is very strong; she is not sickly – she is very playful. Because of what they keep telling me I quit the clinic,” she said.

Chandrapaul can be con tacted on telephone number (592) 672-6663.

GTA Training and Tourism Development Officer Chetnauth Persaud

GTA Training and Licensing Manager Tamika Inglis

Yogeeta Chandrapaul with little Natalia

Edghill inspects roads, bridges in Region 9

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill is in Region Nine, con ducting a series of follow-up visits to inspect rehabilita tion works on various hin terland roads and bridges.

The Minister met and interacted with contrac tors and assessed the pace and quality of work for the restructuring of 32 bridg es from Kurupukari to Lethem. “We’re not get ting an office-desk review or a report. This was in tended for us to experience the reality on the ground. We have noticed that there has been some deteriora tion of existing structures at various segments of the roads. We have taken notes of that as well and we have started to address that,” the Minister is quoted as saying.

He noted that the inten tion was to repair and for tify the bridges and roads in the area to facilitate

12-year-old girl goes missing after leaving for aunt’s house

A12-year-old girl who left her grandmother’s home on Monday morning to go to her aunt’s home which is just five min utes away has gone missing, and her family is desperately trying to find her.

According to her family, 12-year-old Devi Persaud, of Sisters Village, West Bank Demerara (WBD), lives with her 74-year-old grandmother and has been living there since her mother died some four years ago.

Her aunt, Aklema Ali, in an interview with Guyana Times on Wednesday, said that based on what her moth er [the child’s grandmother] told her, the child took a bath, got dressed, and told her that she was going over to her house.

She said her mother said she told her granddaughter that her uncle would come to pick her up in the evening since they do not allow her to go home on her own at nights.

“Late in the night, her un cle come over by me and told me that he come to carry her home and I laugh, because I wanted to know what he was talking about. So, I ask him what happened to she. He said that mommy said that Ashley say she left to come by me.”

Ali said after hearing this, several relatives, friends, and neighbours were contacted to find out if they had seen the child, but to no avail.

“I checked around. I did many searches and I am not getting through. I tried to call her phone and it turned off. She comes by me often and we don’t get no problems with her. My mother even said that they didn’t have any ar gument with her,” the child’s aunt said.

Ali explained that Devi would be attending Patentia Secondary in October after

Missing: Devi Persaud

writing the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) ex ams.

She said the girl’s father lives at Enmore on the East Coast of Demerara, and after she went missing, they made contact with him and he indi cated that he received a call from his daughter the same day, asking him if she can vis it him.

“He said he was going to work and was in a vehicle, and he said he tell she that he going to work and when he come back he will call her. He said before he cut off the phone, he tell she that she cannot come by he because his place is not safe… he said he tell she that the best for her to be right was by me and her grandmother because of the position he was in,” the woman explained.

After ending the conversa tion with the child, her father said he made several efforts to contact her again and all the calls went unanswered.

She said it was quite strange that the girl disap peared without a trace, since

she and her niece have a close relationship and she would have mentioned to her if something was wrong.

“We never get problems with her. I don’t know what is this that she just escape and nobody ain’t know. I don’t know if somebody come and pick she up; that is why we can’t get a trace. I don’t know nothing more that going on here,” Ali said.

“I went everywhere even the welfare [unit] and I still can’t find my niece. I just want her to come home. I want if anybody know where she is to tell us so that she can just come home.”

The family is current ly waiting to review Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage in the neighbourhood to uncover any clue about where she went.

Devi Persaud was last seen wearing a black jersey, blue jeans, and black slippers. Anyone with any information on the child’s whereabouts is asked to contact her family on +592-6989552 or the nearest Police Station. (G9)

smoother flow of traffic. He also expressed that certain measures would have to be put in place to ensure the longevity of the structures.

“We have also noticed that as we improve en gineering and design, it would appear that users and operators seem to think that this is an advantage to pack trucks with great er capacity than should be carried. Therefore, once these bridges are con structed, we will have to also standardise weight limits to ensure the longev ity,” Edghill explained.

The Minister also ex pressed concern at the minimal work being done on these projects and em phasised the need for the process to be expedited. He noted that additional re sources were needed to fa cilitate the completion of the works.

“The Ministry’s engi neers would have to be

out here more regularly to give clear instructions and guide this process to accel erate it,” Edghill said.

He stated that with in two weeks, construction works should be well un derway.

“Contractors signed contracts with the Government of Guyana to execute projects in keeping with the terms and condi tions of their bid, and I am holding them to that stan dard.”

Many contractors ex pressed that the weath er conditions posed a chal lenge for the construction and rehabilitation works, but committed to establish ing a comprehensive plan to facilitate an expedited process.

The minister also con ducted road inspections along Tabatinga Drive, the Karasabai to Yurong Paru stretch, Central and Deep South Rupununi, Moco

Moco and St Ignatius.

The need for an estab lished drainage plan for Lethem was also highlight ed.

Minister Edghill was accompanied by the chief engineer for the Minister of Public Works, the Mayor of Lethem, and other rep resentatives from the Ministry of Public Works.

In January, the Ministry had posted an in vitation for bids for the re structuring of bridges on the Kurupukari to Lethem stretch. Over $2 billion was allocated for these projects. The bridges were undertaken in six lots.

In March, contracts were awarded to KP Thomas and Sons Constructing Inc; Rim Construction; VALs Construction; International Imports and Supplies; Condor Construction Inc and Theodore Faria General Contracting service.

Seventh-day Adventist Church honours top NGSA, CSEC performers

The Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists recently hon oured two of its mem bers who turned in out standing performances at this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and the Caribbean Examination Counciladministered Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exam inations.

According to a press re lease from the Conference, it was an atmosphere of ju bilation in the board room of the church’s headquar ters as the administration,

directors and staff gathered to celebrate the achieve ments of the students.

Nuel Bancroft shared a three-way tie for the top spot in the 2022 NGSA while Daniel Dowding earned 22 Grade Ones and 3 Grade Twos to cop one of the top spots in the 2022 CSEC exams. Both students are members of the local Seventh-day Adventist Movement.

At the celebration, the Executive Secretary of the Seventh-day Adventist church, Pastor Jumoul Sancho acknowledged the hard work of the parents of the young men. Sancho sa

luted the parents’ sacrifice and support to their chil dren on their path to suc cess.

For his part, Pastor Exton Clarke, President of the organisation, highlight ed the significance of mod elling excellence, especially in academia. He expressed pride and commendations to the students on behalf of the 65,000-plus members of the local church scattered across the 10 administra tive regions of Guyana.

Gifts and commemora tive plaques were hand ed over to the students. Special prayers were also offered up on their behalf.

From left: Pastor Jumoul Sancho (Executive Secretary); Pastor Margaret Ramsarran (Education Director); Daniel Dowding (CSEC top performer); Elder Rovena Harrinauth (Treasurer), Sarah Dowding (Daniel’s mother) and Pastor Exton Clarke (President)

From left: Pastor Exton Clarke (President); Roxanne Bancroft (Nuel’s mother); Nuel Bancroft (NGSA top performer); Elder Rovena Harrinauth (Treasurer); Pastor Margaret Ramsarran (Education Director) and Pastor Jumoul Sancho (Executive Secretary)

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill and team inspecting works in Lethem, Region Nine on Tuesday

Regional

IMF approves Barbados’ new funding programmes

Barbados created his tory on Wednesday, becoming the first country in the world to be approved for the new ly formed International Monetary Fund’s Resiliency Sustainability Facility (RSF).

Additionally, the 10-day IMF mission led by Bert Van Selm also approved a staff-level agreement for the country’s three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which will give Barbados a special drawing right (SDR) US$110 mil lion.

Under the RSF, which would be repaid over a 20year period and includes a 10-year moratorium, Barbados will initially ac cess US$183 million.

Overall, the country will have access to US$293 mil lion.

The parameters of the two arrangements were out lined during a press confer ence held on Wednesday at Ilaro Court. It was attend ed by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, high-level members of Government’s economic team and the IMF

delegation.

“We welcome the staff-level agreement reached between the Government of Barbados and the IMF team on access to the IMF’s new Resilience and Sustainability Trust to build resilience against cli mate change with afford able, long-term financing at 150 per cent of quota (about US$183 million),” Van Selm said.

“The RSF will be ac

companied by a 36-month arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with requested ac cess at 90 per cent of quo ta (about US$110 million) to maintain and strength en macroeconomic stability in a more shock-prone envi ronment by enhancing fiscal sustainability, continuing and broadening the imple mentation of the structural reform agenda.” (Excerpt from Nation News)

Argentina's economic crisis draws protests even as poverty rate eases

Argentina's deep eco nomic slump drew thousands to the streets on Wednesday, as protesters demanded action to counter sky-high inflation and help the country's poor, even as data showed the poverty rate dipped in the first half of this year.

Concentrated in the capi tal Buenos Aires, the protests sought to pressure the left ist Government of President Alberto Fernandez to do more to boost the dwindling purchasing power of work ers and attend to the swell ing ranks of the homeless.

"Argentina is going through a huge crisis," said Eduardo Belliboni, head of a local workers group, Polo Obrero, as flag-wav ing protesters sang and oth ers played the drums along blocked roadways.

"And we have an explo sive social situation," he added, arguing that official poverty rates underestimate

the real situation because many people who receive public support are not con sidered poor.

According to official data released earlier on Wednesday, the South American country's poverty rate fell slightly to 36.5 per cent in the first half of this year, compared with 37.3 per cent rate during the sec ond half of 2021.

The latest data marks

a nine per cent reduction from the 40.6 per cent pov erty rate during the first half of last year, according to national INDEC statistics agency.

Argentina, Latin America's third-biggest economy with a popula tion of about 45 million, has been battered by inflation that is approaching 100 per cent this year. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Jamaica: Man dead, female injured in Negril bar shooting

Aman was killed and a female injured in a gun attack at a bar in Negril, Westmoreland on Tuesday night.

The deceased has been identified as 29-year-old Edward Mosley of a Red Ground, Negril address in the parish.

Police report that about

10:30pm, Mosley and the woman were patrons at the bar, which is on the prem ises of a guest house, when a man dressed in black or dered a drink before walk ing away.

The man returned short ly after, brandished a fire arm and opened fire hitting Mosley in the head before

escaping. The woman was also shot in the foot.

Mosley and the woman were transported to hos pital where he was pro nounced dead on arrival while the female was treat ed and admitted in stable condition.

Investigations are ongo ing. (Jamaica Observer)

Brazilian elected as new PAHO Director

ABrazilian

– Dr Jarbas Barbosa Da Silva Jr, has been elected as the new Director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), suc ceeding Dominican Dr Carissa Etienne, who demits office in February next year after serving two five-year terms.

The Brazilian was among five people vying for the post, including Dr Florence Duperval Guillaume, who had been nominated by Haiti. The other candidates came from Panama, Mexico, and Uruguay.

Dr Barbosa da Silva Jr is currently the Assistant Director at PAHO, where he has led the Organisation’s efforts to increase equita ble access to COVID-19 vac cines and to enhance re gional capacities to produce medicines and other health technologies.

He joined PAHO in 2007 as Area Manager for Health Surveillance and Disease

Management, responsible for coordinating regional ac tivities related to the sur veillance, prevention, and control of communicable and non-communicable diseas es; veterinary public health; and health analysis and sta tistics.

His election formed part of the highlight of the on going 30th Pan American Sanitary Conference, where a resolution was adopt ed by delegates appoint

ing Dr Etienne as Director Emeritus “for her service to the Pan American Health Organisation and the World Health Organisation” as of the date of her retirement.

WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thanked Dr Etienne for her “outstand ing leadership over the past 10 years,” informing the in coming Director that he has “big shoes to fill”.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Cuban migrant boat sinks off Florida due to Hurricane Ian; 20 missing

US Border Patrol said on Wednesday that 20 people were missing off the coast of Florida after a Cuban mi grant boat sank due to Hurricane Ian.

The Border Patrol agents responded to a mi grant landing in Stock Island, Florida, officials said on Twitter. The US Coast Guard had initiat ed a search operation for 23 missing people, with the agency later saying it had rescued three of them. They were taken to a local hospi tal for symptoms of exhaus

tion and dehydration.

Four additional Cuban migrants swam to shore after their vessel sank ow ing to inclement weather, Chief Patrol Agent Walter Slosar said. Local media said those four also were hospitalised.

On Tuesday, the storm thrashed Cuba, knock ing out the electrical grid for 11 million people and ravaging the western end of the island with violent winds and flooding. By ear ly Wednesday, the state electricity provider said it had begun to restore pow

er across the eastern end of the island.

In a BBC report, offi cials earlier said the elec trical system had collapsed after one of the country's main power plants could not be brought back online. As Ian began to bear down on Florida with winds of up to 250km/h (155mph), US Border Patrol and the US Coast Guard said that a search and rescue operation had been launched to look for 23 migrants whose boat is believed to have sunk at sea during the storm.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

JTUM stands with TTUTA over wage protests

Government’s victo ry in the Industrial Court on Sunday, which put paid to the planned "rest and reflection" day of protest on Monday, is being termed "a frontal attack" on the trade union movement by Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) Head Ancel Roget.

Representatives from several unions, under the umbrella of the JTUM gath ered on Wednesday at the Banking, Insurance and General Workers Union (BIGWU) office in Barataria, as a show of solidarity with the TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA).

Also present were the

Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU), the TT Registered Nurses Association, the Contractors and General Workers Trade Union, Communications Workers Union, Postal Workers Union, Industrial and General Sanitation Workers Union, and Fire Services Association and

another umbrella body, the National Trade Union Centre (NATUC).

Roget said the entire movement stands behind TTUTA in its rejection of Government's four per cent salary increase offer, its op position to the non-consolida tion of COLA, and the CPO's non-use of a labour market

survey in wage-talks with TTUTA. He urged members to stand up for their rights

"We no longer live in a de mocracy. We are under the feet of a crushing govern ment," Roget said.

He complained that the Prime Minister was mak ing public statements which Roget said were tantamount

to negotiating in public, in place of the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO).

He also accused CPO Dr Darryl Dindial of having not having any meaningful en gagement with TTUTA and of bullying that union with a "take it or leave it" stance. (Excerpt from Trinidad Newsday)

Head of IMF mission Bert Van Selm (right) speaking at the media conference. Also pictured are Prime Minister Mia Mottley and Government economic advisor Kevin Greenidge (Reco Moore photo)

Dr Jarbas Barbosa da Silva J

A member of a social organisation walks past tents during a protest outside the Social Development Ministry to protest against the IMF agreement, in demand of jobs, and resources for soup kitchens, amid a severe crisis of the economy and spiking inflation, in Buenos Aires, Argentina September 27, 2022 (Reuters/Agustin Marcarian)

Around the World

OIL NEWS

Oil prices jump after US crude, fuel stocks drop; dollar weakens

Oilprices rose on Wednesday for a second day, rebounding from recent losses as the US dollar eased off recent gains and US fuel inventory figures showed larger-than-expected drawdowns and a rebound in consumer demand.

Brent crude futures settled up US$3.05, or 3.5 per cent , at US$89.32 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ended up US$3.65, or 4.7 per cent, to US$82.15 a barrel.

Analysts said oil prices, down more than 22 per cent during the third quarter, may be bottoming out as Chinese demand shows signs of rebounding and the US sales of strategic reserves come to a close.

"I do think we are bottoming, but it is going to continue to be exceptionally volatile, and continue to be keeping easy speculative money away from this market," said Rebecca Babin, senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth US.

US inventory figures showed consumer demand rebounded, though refining product supplied remained three per cent lower over the last four weeks than the year-ago period.

US crude stocks fell by 215,000 barrels in the most recent week, while gasoline inventories declined by 2.4 million barrels and distillate inventories by 2.9 million barrels, as refining activity declined following several outages.

Refining activity dipped, but refiners are still running at 90.6 per cent of overall capacity in the United States, the highest for this time of year since 2014, on both domestic and export demand.

The dollar hit a fresh two-decade peak against a basket of currencies on Wednesday before pulling back. A strong dollar reduces demand for oil by making it more expensive for buyers using other currencies. In early afternoon US hours, the dollar index was down 0.9 per cent.

"These are all dollar-driven rallies across the board," said Eli Tesfaye, senior market strategist at RJO Futures. "All raw material dominated currencies are up – crude is not just moving in isolation here."

Goldman Sachs cut its 2023 oil price forecast on Tuesday, owing to expectations of weaker demand and a stronger US dollar, but said global supply disappointments only reinforced its long-term bullish outlook.

Global equities pulled off two-year lows on Wednesday, after the Bank of England said it would step into the bond market to stem a damaging rise in borrowing costs, dampening investor fears of contagion across the financial system. (Reuters)

Russia poised to annex 4 Ukraine regions after ‘sham’ referendum

Russia is poised to for mally annex parts of Ukraine after the Kremlin conducted a “refer endum” in four occupied re gions to join Moscow’s rule – a move decried by the Ukrainian Government and the West.

Armed troops had gone door-to-door with election of ficials to collect ballots in five days of voting in Russianoccupied regions that make up about 15 per cent of Ukrainian territory.

Moscow-installed Administrations in the four regions of southern and eastern Ukraine claimed on Tuesday night that 93 per cent of the ballots cast in the Zaporizhia region support ed annexation, as did 87 per cent in the Kherson region, 98 per cent in the Luhansk region and 99 per cent in Donetsk.

The suspiciously high margins in favour were wide ly characterised as a bogus land grab by an increasingly cornered Russian leadership following recent military losses in Kharkiv in north ern Ukraine.

“Forcing people in these

territories to fill out some pa pers at the barrel of a gun is yet another Russian crime in the course of its aggression against Ukraine,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said, add ing that the balloting was “a propaganda show” and “null and worthless”.

The Ministry asked the

European Union, NATO and the Group of Seven major in dustrial nations to “immedi ately and significantly” step up pressure on Russia with new sanctions and by signifi cantly increasing their mili tary aid to Kyiv.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged the EU’s 27 member countries to agree on a new package of sanc tions on Russian officials and trade in response to the “sham referendums”. She la belled the ballots “an ille gal attempt to grab land and change international borders by force”.

Pro-Russia officials in the four regions said they would ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to incorporate their provinces into Russia on the basis of announced vote re sults. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Nord Stream leak: West shores up pipeline security, blaming Russia “sabotage”

European countries say they will ramp up se curity around oil and gas installations after the suspected sabotage of two major pipelines.

The European Union, United States and NATO have suggested damage to the pipelines between Russia and Germany was deliber ate, but have not blamed Russia directly.

Russia has said it was not involved, and asked if the US was instead.

Russia has previous ly been accused of using gas supplies as a weapon against the West over its support for Ukraine.

The leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were discovered on

Monday and Tuesday.

Neither pipeline was op erating at the time, as the Nord Stream 2 project was abandoned when Russia in vaded Ukraine, and Russia shut down Nord Stream 1 in September, citing a need for maintenance.

But both pipelines were still full of gas, which bub bled to the surface in an area a kilometre wide on the sea's surface.

Danish Energy Minister Dan Jorgensen said the leaks were likely to last for at least a week, until the gas escap ing from the pipes runs out. An investigation has been launched.

European Commission Head Ursula von der Leyen has promised the "strongest

Hurricane Ian crashes ashore in Florida with Category 4 fury

Hurricane Ian ploughed into Florida's Gulf Coast with catastrophic force on Wednesday, un leashing howling winds, torrential rains, and a treacherous surge of ocean surf that made it one of the most powerful US storms in recent years.

Ian made landfall at 15:05h EDT (1905 GMT)

near Cayo Costa, a barri er island just west of Fort Myers, as a Category Four hurricane, with sustained winds of up to 241 kilome tres per hour (150 miles per hour), the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported.

The storm's wind speeds put it just shy of a Category 5 designation on the Saffir-

About 90 minutes later, the NHC reported Ian had moved ashore the Florida mainland just south of the

harbourside town of Punta Gorda, with slightly dimin ished sustained winds top ping out at 145 mph.

Governor Ron DeSantis said Ian had generated life-threatening storm surg es – waves of wind-driven seawater flooding along the coast – of up to 3.7 metres (12 feet) in some places. Forecasters also warned of intense thunderstorms and possible tornadoes, with up to two feet of rain expected in parts of central Florida as the storm moved further inland.

"This is a storm that we will talk about for many years to come, an historic event," said Ken Graham, Director of the National Weather Service. (Excerpt from Reuters)

possible response" if the at tack is proven to have been deliberate.

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dismissed accu sations of sabotage as "pre dictable, stupid and absurd".

Peskov said he was "ex tremely concerned" about the leaks, adding that the possi bility of a deliberate attack could not be ruled out.

In the aftermath of the al

leged attacks, Norway – now Europe's largest gas suppli er – has decided to deploy its military to protect crucial in frastructure.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a news con ference that the military would be "more visible" at oil and gas installations.

Any attack would be handled jointly with allies, he said. (Excerpt from BBC News)

US VP Harris visiting Seoul, Korean DMZ hours after Kim's missile test

US Vice President Kamala Harris was headed to Seoul and the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating the Koreas on Thursday, just hours after North Korea test-fired missiles and un derscored ongoing regional tensions.

Aides said the visit is intended to show unwav ering US commitment to South Korea's security, but took on new urgency after the two short-range ballis tic missiles were shot off North Korea's east coast on Wednesday.

US President Joe Biden's aides have been shoring up alliances to manage China in the region, including over Taiwan. But South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol told CNN in an interview aired on Sunday that in a conflict over Taiwan, North Korea would be more likely to stage a provocation and that the alliance should fo cus on that concern first.

The missile test is the second since Sunday and

comes two days after South Korea and US forces con ducted a military drill in waters off South Korea's east coast involving an air craft carrier.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un has said it is developing nuclear weapons and mis siles to defend against US threats.

Following a stop at a military base in Japan, Harris called recent missile launches part of an "illicit weapons programme which threatens regional stabil ity and violates multiple UN Security Council reso lutions".

Harris' visit to the DMZ is the first by a senior Biden Administration official and is expected to follow a meet ing with Yoon.

Several former US Presidents, and Biden himself before he became President, have visited the DMZ, but former President Donald Trump became the first to have met a North Korean leader there. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Simpson scale, the most se vere classification for storms with maximum sustained winds of at least 157 mph.

Members of a local electoral commission count ballots at a polling station following a referendum on the joining of Russiancontrolled regions of Ukraine to Russia, in Sevastopol, Crimea [Alexey Pavlishak/Reuters]

A car is seen on Caloosahatchee Bridge ahead of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers, Florida, US, September 28, 2022 (Reuters/Marco Bello)

DAILY HOROSCOPES

Pick away at a creative idea until you turn it into something tangible. Keep what you are working toward a secret, and you will save yourself from a lecture by someone who lacks your vision.

Speak confidently and share what you know; the response will help you get ahead. Do whatever it takes to boost your reputation, and you'll gain access to where you need to be.

Take time to get to know your peers, neighbors or community members. Emphasize what interests you, and you'll attract people with connections to something you want to pursue. Romance is in the stars.

Develop a talent or skill that is for ward-thinking and fitting for this mo ment. Be abrupt if that's what it takes to get others on board. A change will turn out well, as long as you avoid indulgence.

Listen carefully, say little and look for an alternative to what someone sug gests. Refuse to let anyone play with your emotions or make you feel guilty. Say no to anyone pressuring you.

Express yourself passionately, and you'll make progress. What you contrib ute will change how others perceive you. Take a different route if it will help you gain insight. Share your feelings.

Consider your attributes, skills and schedule, and adjust your lifestyle ac cordingly. It's up to you to turn your ideas into something tangible, so don't wait for someone to do the work for you.

Stick to what you know and do best. Don't give anyone a chance to stand in your way. Think outside the box. An in novative, enthusiastic presentation will muster up authentic support.

Mull over what you want to achieve, but be secretive regarding your plans to avoid interference. Listen to your heart. Expand your workspace or make room for a project you want to pursue.

Put everything in its place and leave nothing to chance. Talks will bring about positive change; however, certain actions may leave a sour taste in your or someone else's mouth.

You'll come up with a plan that looks lucrative. Explore the possibilities and consider how to invest safely in some thing you want to pursue. Follow your dreams.

Live and learn. Take the time to look at every angle of a situation. An emo tional discussion can ruin a relation ship with someone you count on for help. Choose your words wisely.

India win by 8 wickets, after restricting SA to 106

International cricket's

much-awaited return to Thiruvananthapuram af ter three years was celebrat ed with a clinic of pace bowl ing where, at the end of it all, India got the better of South Africa by eight wickets in the series opener.

Even though contrasting half-centuries from KL Rahul (51*) and Suryakumar Yadav (50*) shepherded the small chase, India's win was set up by the new-ball assault from Arshdeep Singh (3 for 32) and Deepak Chahar (2 for 24) in the first innings. They had South Africa on the mat ear ly, reducing the visitors to 9 for 5 inside the third over with a supreme display of swing bowling in both directions.

For a brief period, even a target of 107 looked tricky for India, with Kagiso Rabada (1 for 16) getting extra bounce, Wayne Parnell bowling stump-to-stump (0 for 14) and Anrich Nortje (1 for 32) bring ing in red-hot pace. However, India always remained favou rites, despite making only 17 runs in their first six overs; the 93-run unbeaten part nership between Rahul and Suryakumar took them home with 20 deliveries to spare, and gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

A procession of ducks

The Greenfield International Stadium was expected to be full of runs. However, very few seamers control the swinging ball like Chahar and Arshdeep.

Chahar teased Temba Bavuma in the first over with two slips and three outswing ers to first up, but the last ball

er that took the outside edge off an attempted drive, and removing the latter with an inswinger that flattened the poles.

Three balls later, Chahar had a third golden duck add ed to South Africa's top or der when Tristan Stubbs's attempted cut took a thick outside edge that flew to a div ing Arshdeep at deep third. At 9 for 5, the South African low er order had a steep mountain to climb.

Maharaj et al pick up the pieces

Arshdeep and Chahar were given a third over each in the powerplay, but with the swing drying up, Aiden Markram and Parnell began a mini recovery. The odd bound ary or six aside, they were kept in check by the pacers. Chahar relied on a shorter length - with the ball getting old - but Arshdeep kept find ing his full ball to Markram whizzing past the outside edge.

R Ashwin, introduced right after the powerplay, af ter being picked ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal, had the liberty to show off his wares.

He gave Parnell a mix of slid ers and slow offbreaks in an economical spell of 4-1-8-0, while Markram - and later Keshav Maharaj - were of fered the drifter and the car rom ball to keep them quiet. In all, he bowled 16 dots.

Axar Patel, who was in troduced as the fifth bowl er after 12 overs, bowled 15 dots of his own in deliv ering four overs on the trot. His line was closer to the stumps, and relied on ensur ing the lower order batters

run-rate of well under six.

SA seamers keep India honest The chase was meant to be

straightforward, but with a small target, Rahul had the liberty of playing out Rabada's first over - a maid en. Rabada, though, at tacked the stumps in his second over, and induced an edge off Rohit Sharma's bat by getting the ball to come in and forcing the India captain to play at it. His caught-be hind dismissal meant both captains on the night were out for ducks.

Virat Kohli came out intend ing to attack Rabada, but af ter a miscued drive early on, he, too, reined in his shot-making. From the other end, Parnell looked less dangerous, straying down the leg side in search for swing. However, he did

South Africa to take two cessful

With ets key for any chance of

a South Africa win, Rabada bowled a third over inside the powerplay, and contin ued to trouble Rahul with his assortment of deliveries that jagged in and angled away. His three-over first spell for only six runs went a long way in India reach ing only 17 for 1 after six overs, their lowest power play score ever in T20Is.

Nortje came on just af ter the six-over mark, and his first delivery had Kohli looking to cut. But the extra bounce and pace got a thick edge, and de Kock was in action again. That brought Suryakumar in at No. 4.

Suryakumar attacks, Rahul gives support

As has been customary with the newly-minted No. 2 batter in T20Is, Suryakumar decided to be aggressive from the start. After being hit on the body by Nortje's first ball, he played the flick off his next two balls to score 12. The first six was fortu itous, with Nortje's pace tak ing it for a six over deep third. The second one was more like Suryakumar, going into the stands beyond deep midwick et.

Introduction of the two spinners Tabraiz Shamsi and Maharaj meant smoother bat ting for the duo, especially Rahul. They milked the strike up to the 10th over, ensuring the required run-rate did not go over 6.50, even if the team's scoring rate in itself wasn't re markable.

After drinks, Rahul smacked the occasionally way ward Nortje for six over long on to move to 21 in 37 balls, and after that, he never looked out of sorts again.

Both batters hit Shamsi and Maharaj for a six each - Rahul with a pull, Suryakumar with a shot over long off respectively - after which they thumped Nortje for an 11-run 15th over.

Rabada, perhaps kept a tad too late to bowl his fi nal over, was thumped by Suryakumar for consecutive fours with the game near ly sealed. Suryakumar - who finished with a strike-rate of 151.51 - reached his fifty with only three runs to win, and Rahul reached his half-centu ry with a swept six off Shamsi - also the winning runsto finish on 51 in 56 balls.

(Cricinfo)

Arshdeep Singh started with a three-wicket over

Maharaj’s

India

Australia announce T20 squad for West Indies series

coming in with the open ing position, with obvious ly Davey Warner not be ing here and a couple of other players in our World Cup 15," Australia Head Coach Andrew McDonald said after the final match in Hyderabad.

"Fortuitous, but he's taken that opportunity. We thought he had the skill when we did our strategy be fore we came over here. And

he's taken on some of the best bowlers in world crick et. You could argue Jasprit [Bumrah] is one of the best T20 bowlers ever. So, to be able to do that, work your way through that situation again tonight and do it two out of three times, is very impressive and bodes well," McDonald has said.

Sean Abbott and Daniel Sams, who were also part of the India tour, have been re

tained for the West Indies matches.

Australia squad for West Indies T20Is: Aaron Finch, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa (Cricinfo)

Australia have upped the ante in their quest to retain their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup crown by recalling a quartet of big guns for their upcom ing two-match T20I series at home against the West Indies.

Cameron Green has been retained in Australia's T20I squad for the two matches against West Indies in Queensland next week, as a "cautious" ap proach is taken with various injuries around the squad. However, Mitchell Marsh (ankle), Marcus Stoinis (side) and Mitchell Starc (knee) all return for the start of Australia's final

stretch into the T20 World Cup, having sat out the trip to India along with David Warner, who was rested from those three games.

Kane Richardson and Ashton Agar, who flew back early from India, having picked up minor injuries, won't be part of the West Indies series on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane, but are expected to feature in the three matches against England which follow.

"We have and are taking a cautious approach, with the World Cup on the near horizon," national selector George Bailey has said. "To have four key players return gives us the ability to take

a conservative path with any minor issues, and re solve those well in time for the World Cup. As such, we anticipate Kane and Ashton will return for the following series against England."

Green was the stand out performer in India, with two half-centuries opening the innings for the first time in his professional career. The second of those came off just 19 balls. He is not part of the World Cup 15, but is now the frontrunner should there be the need to make any late changes, or inju ries occur during the tour nament.

"It's probably oppor tunistic the way that he's

Ronaldo held talks with Al-Hilal, claims Saudi club's president

Cristiano Ronaldo held talks with AlHilal over a possi ble move from Manchester United during the trans fer window, according to the Saudi club's president, Fahad ben Nafel.

The Portugal inter national was repeatedly linked with an exit from Old Trafford following the ar rival of Erik ten Hag, but a move away did not materi alise before the deadline.

Riyadh-based AlHilal, who won the Saudi Professional League last season, were one of a num ber of teams touted as a possible destination for Ronaldo. They were report ed at the time to have of fered Ronaldo a two-year deal worth the equivalent of a mammoth £211 million, which works out at around £2m a week.

And in an interview on the Thamanya YouTube channel, Ben Nafel claimed a blockbuster deal for Ronaldo had fallen through only due to the club being

placed under a transfer ban.

"Yes, we negotiated with Ronaldo. The problem was not in the money or the

and has started just one of their six Premier League games this term. (Sportsmax)

"HIS INVOLVEMENT IN T20 CRICKET HAS BEEN NON-EXISTENT"

-Tony Gray questions selection of Cariah and Cottrell for T20 World Cup

Former West Indies fast bowler Tony Gray has questioned the selection of left-arm pac er Sheldon Cottrell and leg-spinner Yannic Cariah

Regarding Cottrell, Gray pointed to his fitness as his main question mark heading into Australia.

“I don’t think Cottrell

en 48 wickets in 43 T20 Internationals since his de but in 2014. In the 2022 CPL, he took five wick ets in six matches for the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots. (Sportsmax)

The 30-year-old Trinidadian Cariah made his One-Day International debut for the Windies in the recently concluded se ries against New Zealand in Barbados last month.

“With Cariah, I think the selectors are assessing him on the couple of games he played against New Zealand, but those were 50over games. Where are you going to bat Cariah? He’s a very intelligent player, hard-working. I had him at the Under-19 level, and I had to stop him a few times, because he would be the one that would over-train and put too much pressure on himself,” added Gray, who represented the region in five Tests and 25 ODIs from 1985 to 1991.

Cariah has played four T20 matches in his career, the last coming six years ago.

has been fit enough in recent times to warrant a place on the West Indies team. When you look at Cottrell in the last 50-over tournament, he was the ‘player of the tour nament’ for the West Indian people. When we look at Cottrell then, he was ex tremely fit. He was not only brilliant with the ball, but he was also brilliant in the field, and took some stun ning catches,” Gray said.

“The point I’m trying to make about Cottrell is that if he’s not playing con sistently, I’m not sure that he’s going to fare well. We understand that he’s going to be playing on bouncier tracks in Australia, and that he has different types of de liveries, but I’ve not seen him enough in recent times to make a determination on his fitness,” Gray added.

Cottrell has tak

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YBG to host Developmental Circuit League and Student Pathway Conference this year

By TimoThy Jaikarran

Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) has continued to strengthen its roots in and around Guyana as it pur sues its ambition to make the sport inclusive to ev eryone. YBG Cofounder Chris Bowman has not ed that, outside of the Titan Bowl and Tertiary Knockout competition slat ed for December, at some time later this year, YBG would be seeking to host a Developmental Circuit League and a Student Pathway Conference.

Bowman explained that the league would consist of emerging teams which are

not yet at the level of being competitive in the National Schools Basketball Festival. He explained that, as seen during the festival, some of the scores were lopsided as a result of new teams com ing into the competition and having to compete against more seasoned opponents. Thus, Bowman clarified, in October or November, YBG is looking to organise a cir cuit league which would ca ter just for the developmen tal schools.

In an interview with this publication, Bowman disclosed, “The league will be about eight girls’ bas ketball teams, girls who are now getting into the game and getting their feet wet. It will give them the oppor tunity to (experience) what a good league format looks like, and give them mile age on the court. We will also have 14-16 age group teams. So, all in all, we will try to accommodate and approach all the areas in this last quarter. So, not only our under-18 and senior male and female (teams) will get a chance to play later this year, but before that, we will concen trate on re al ly giving those new players an opportunity to get some playing time.”

Bowman divulged that he expects the Development

League, Titan Bowl and the Tertiary Knockout tourna ment to be a good way of finishing 2022. He relayed that one advantage of doing these programmes is that teams and schools would be better organised by the end of the year, so when the new year commences, they would be in a better posi tion to succeed on the bas ketball court.

He also shared that one other major programme on the agenda would be the Student Athlete Pathway Conference, which would open the pathway for ath letes in fourth, fifth and sixth forms to come togeth er and get guidance. He ex plained that a number of facilitators would come in and deal with topics such as mental health, financial management, and pursuing college applications, among other things, as students prepare to graduate from high school.

Stressing on the im portance of the YBG reach, Bowman commented, “Out

of that, we are able to re plenish our national pro gramme later this year. The Government of Guyana, Ministry of Sports, and the National Federation, they will host the Inter Guiana Games, but many of the players who you will see representing basketball in the male and female cate

gories, they are products, they have been shaped by school basketball, so there is a great, tremendous val ue in ensuring that we can adequately organise and give opportunities to young sters in terms of continuing to improve and develop.”

Bowman touted that the YBG programme is on

track, and even boasted that the organisation is not events- based, but is more a year-round youth develop ment organisation. He said the YBG focuses on helping students to be better on and off the court, as it stands by its core values, which are leadership, scholarship and progress.

CWSS lead Guyoil League heading into third round

The Christianburg Wismar Secondary School (CWSS) are in control of the Guyoil/ Tradewind Tankers Schools Football League after two rounds, but an interesting fixture this weekend can turn the proverbial tides of fortune.

Last weekend, Christianburg Wismar Secondary School (CWSS) were the lone team to pick up

a victory, while there were several drawn results as the Guyoil/ Tradewind Tankers Schools Football League con tinued.

However, this Saturday, October 1, 2022, the front-runners are likely to face their toughest challenge yet with a rematch of the Milo 2022 final on the cards.

Meanwhile, the oth er teams in the competition would look to rebound from

GAW BEATEN...

collecting one point last week. CWSS currently lead the league with two wins from as many games, but the likes of Cummings Lodge Secondary, Golden Grove Secondary and President’s College each have a win and a draw from two games. North Ruimveldt Multilateral and Dolphin Secondary each have a draw and a loss as their fate in the first two rounds. Meanwhile, Friendship Secondary is lag

FROM BACK PAGE

ging behind with two losses.

nal game scheduled for the day and the third round of the U18 Secondary Schools Football League, Dolphin and Cummings Lodge would go toe-to-toe, with the first whistle expected at

16:30hrs. This is the third edition of the Guyoil/Tradewind Tankers’ tournament.

At 71-3, Raymon Reifer joined Brooks, and the duo took Tallawahs to 85-3 at the halfway stage. In that period, the Warriors’ field ing looked pedestrian, with Shakib dropping Powell ear lier in the innings at long-on.

In the final over, where in Brooks reached his mile stone, Smith conceded 26 runs and the Tallawahs posted 226-4 in 20 overs, the fifth joint highest score in CPL by a team. Brooks ended unbeaten on 109 from 52 balls in an innings that had eight sweet six es and seven timely fours. Wasim was unbeaten on 41 from 15 balls in an in

Brooks reached his half-century in 34 balls, and he never looked back. It was all class from the right-hander as he put the Warriors’ bowling to the sword. Reifer, being trapped leg-before, depart ed for a run-a-ball 22 with Tallawahs on 123-4 in 15.1 overs. Brooks reached his maiden CPL century from 50 balls, and the last five overs saw Tallawahs scoring 106 runs. Brooks took three sixes off a Shakib Al Hasan over, then he and Imad Wasim slammed Shepherd for 23 runs in the 19th over.

nings that included three sixes and four boundaries. The duo added 103 runs off 34 balls. Shepherd claimed 2-43, while Tahir had 1-34. Smith conceded 64 runs in four overs, and had a soli tary wicket.

This is the highest T20 score at Providence, and four of the five high est scores were scored this week, with additional work being done on the surface.

The grand final of the 2022 CPL will bowl off on Friday at Providence from 19:00h, with Barbados Royals taking on Jamaica Tallawahs.

In this weekend’s fix tures, the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground on Carifesta Avenue, Georgetown will once again witness electrifying en counters, the headliner of which could be a battle be tween Linden’s CWSS and Georgetown’s North Ruimveldt Multilateral, who recent ly duked it out for the champion ship of the Milo Schools Under-18 tour nament. Their encounter would be the second match of the day, and it is scheduled to begin at 13:30hrs.

In game one, President’s College and Friendship Secondary would bat tle each other from noon on Saturday. West Ruimveldt would take on Golden Grove in game 3, scheduled to kick off at 15:00hrs. In the fi

YBG Cofounder Chris Bowman

CPL 2022, Qualifier Match 2…

GAW BEATEN ON HOME TURF

By Brandon Corlette

Shamarh

Brooks scored a magnificent centu ry in CPL Qualifier Match 2 to lead the Jamaica Tallawahs into their third Hero Caribbean Premier League final, to be played against the Barbados Royals on Friday, September 30, at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, EBD.

Tallawahs defeated Amazon Warriors by 37 runs after Brooks left the packed Providence Stadium, which had mostly home support ers, in awe with his classy stroke-play as he propelled Tallawahs to 226-4 in 20 overs. In response, Warriors managed 189-8 in 20 overs.

In the tall chase, Warriors lost the out-offavour Paul Stirling (02) cheaply when he spooned one to short off the consis tent Mohammad Amir to leave the Warriors’ score at 19-1 in 2.1 overs.

Gurbaz and Shai Hope blazed away to take the Warriors to 50 in 4.5 overs, the duo taking 17 runs be fore Gurbaz hit a return catch to Fabian Allen and was out for 22 from 16 balls.

Hope played some love ly shots in his 13-ball 31, which was decorated with

two sixes and three fours, but Chris Green silenced the crowd when he rattled Hope’s stumps to convert the score to 56-3.

The powerplay saw Warriors’ score go to 62-3, and Keemo Paul was given a promotion to bat at five, ahead of Hetmyer. Shakib Al Hasan was cleaned up by Green for five at 78-4 in 7.5 overs.

At the halfway stage, Warriors were 95-4, with Hetmyer on 11 and Paul on 21. In the 11th over, Warriors reached the 100run mark with Paul show ing his versatility. Hetmyer eventually played an ugly swipe to leave the home fans in shock, as he was bowled all ends up by Nicholson Gordon for a run-a-ball 15.

At 112-5 in 12.3 overs, Romario Shepherd came and went for two, being caught at the wicket off Wasim.

Gudakesh Motie joined Paul, and the duo had an odd plan, refus ing singles and aim ing for bound ar ies. Paul reached his fif ty

from 33 balls with a 107-me tre six over wide long-on. Four balls later, Paul's in nings came to an end when he was bowled by the im pressive Wasim at 149-7 in 17.1 overs. Wasim’s spell produced 2-25 in four overs. Smith made 24 from 14, while Motie was un beaten on 22 in a losing cause, as GAW ended on 189-8 in 20 overs.

Earlier, Warriors won the toss and opted to bowl first on a fresh surface. Romario Shepherd removed both open ers in the powerplay. Kennar Lewis was the first man out, making a duck when he offered a return catch to Shepherd at 1-1 at the end of the first over. Brandon King was then caught by Odean Smith for six, and the home fans began jumping as the King made his exit.

Skipper Rovman Powell and the classy Brooks added 55 runs for the third wick et. Brooks was dropped on five by the wicket-keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and the Barbadian capitalised on

his good fortune. Powell did not spare Junior Sinclair, who had an off day with the ball. The skipper also took Smith for a four and a six in consecutive balls in the ninth over, but his demise came in that same over,

which yielded 15 runs.

Powell was caught be hind, and upon review, he was given out for a brisk 37 from 23 balls. His innings was decorated with three sixes and two fours.

3-0-35-1

Mohammad Nabi 2-0-22-0

Gordon 4-0-39-1

Rovman Powell 1-0-12-1

-Tallawahs into final after Brooks's masterful century

Amazon Warriors inspire next generation through ExxonMobil engagement

Lifestories, motivational speeches, fun in the sun and overall unforgettable moments were on the cards on Tuesday, when the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) interacted with the next generation of youth cricketers and athletes.

The engagement which was organized by ExxonMobil, fit perfectly into the Amazon Warriors’ annual effort to immerse themselves in charitable causes, especially surrounding chil

dren.

The ExxonMobil Guyana event sought to give the youngsters a chance to learn from their cricketing idols in a fun, interactive environment. The chil dren selected to attend hailed from vari ous schools around the country, cricket clubs and other organizations and was

hosted in the Marriott Hotel Parking Lot.

The initial panel set-up allowed the youngsters to quiz the cricketers about various aspects of life and the sport.

“The first disappointing call I received as a cricketer, it was when I was around 16,” Ronsford Beaton shared as he re counted one of his most disappointing experiences as a teen ager.

“I had my hopes up because then I did all the things that I need to do to prepare for the tournament. But when I received the call that I wasn’t selected, I was heartbroken.”

In a bid to enlighten the youngsters on how to deal with such, Beaton continued, “It was a sad feeling, but I overcame it as the days go by.”

Also opting to share valuable words of advice, was Saxacalli’s Keemo Paul.

“In life, there will be a lot of disappointments. There will be a lot of ups and downs, you know, life is never a smooth road but its how we deal with it and how you cope with it,” Paul openly shared.

“For me, I think family is important and I just want to en courage each and every one of you to just keep following your dreams, keep working hard, stay disciplined, stay grounded, and be humble always. No matter how far you reach in life, just try to stay as humble as possible and go step by step.”

Paul further stated, “When those disappointments come, just remember it’s not the end of the road.”

Following the verbal interaction concluded, it was time to hit the pitch in a mock-up cricket game. Additionally, the children also got the opportunity to take photos and get auto graphs from the GAW Players.

The amazon Warriors take a phot op with students from Queen’s College

“Cricket is much more than a game for us in Guyana, it is a passion, part of our culture and a unify ing force. As we celebrate “One Guyana”, the hosting of the CPL final will be an energis ing force. We are building a product that will be spectator-focused, integrated with our re gional partners for a global market. Cricket

Carnival is a fusion of entertainment and celebration that will be mind-blowing and unbelievably different from any other glob al cricketing event. We welcome all to the greatest celebration of music, pageantry, Caribbean vibes with a South American touch, and, of course, cricket played loud est.”

Onbehalf of the management, coach ing staff and players of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, I would like to welcome all the fans in our dear land of Guyana who will be coming out from today in numbers to fill our National Stadium in all our games – and those who could not get in because the tickets were all sold out with in a few days. In the ten years that the Hero T20 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has been in existence, I can say – without any fear of being accused of exaggeration that you have been the most consistent in dem onstrating support for your team – and for CPL Cricket – in all of the territories.

And I repeat, the Guyana Amazon Warriors are your team and your vociferous support of your team in and out of the sta dium has proven to be their secret weapon – providing at crucial moments that rush of adrenalin that takes teams across the line from the agony of defeat to the thrill of victo ry. Your Guyana Amazon Warriors have re sponded by being the most consistent team in the last decade. And they have become known as a team that never say die.

This year, our season was bookmarked between the end of the month of August – the month we have commemorated as “Freedom Month” for more than a century and a half – and the end of September, which is the month we celebrate “Amerindian Heritage Month” in honour of our First Peoples. During that time, we West Indians have marked that freedom and indigenous ness by achieving success in several fields –but nowhere else more unique than in the culture we evolved in celebrating life itself. Maybe it is because, more than most other

A Message by Hon. Brigadier (Retired)

Mark Phillips, Prime Minister of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana

Guyana is a proud host of the highly-anticipated finals of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2022, the domestic Twenty20 cricket league played here in the West Indies.

We warmly welcome the teams, players, coaches, and their fans for the final leg of the tournament. The first game in Guyana is set for Wednesday, September 21, and will climax with the finals on Friday, September 30.

An exciting brand of cricket is ex pected from the six teams partici pating in the tournament namely, Jamaica Tallawahs, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Barbados Royals, Trinbago Knight Riders, St Lucia Kings, and, of course, the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

This is the 10th season of the CPL, but the first time that the finals are being held in Guyana. We anticipate an electrifying atmosphere from the wave of fans who will fill seats at the National Stadium in Providence to witness the games.

My fervent hope, like many Guyanese, is for our Amazon Warriors to draw inspiration from the games be ing staged in Guyana to finally reward their passionate and loyal fans by win ning the elusive CPL championship on home soil.

Notwithstanding, hosting the CPL is a special moment for Guyana.

As a result of the vision and invest ments of our Government, led by Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the CPL finals were secured, particularly

given the socio-economic development benefits that cricket offers.

The CPL games in Guyana are paired with Cricket Carnival, a fun, vibrant and colourful medley of ac tivities held under the “One Guyana” theme.

This is the first of three annual CPL finals and Cricket Carnivals to be hosted by Guyana.

The CPL and the carnival events mean a lot to Guyana as our unwav ering drive is to bring people togeth er and to unify the country. There is no better way to achieve this than through sports and culture.

Both events fulfil the Government’s overall mission of promoting Guyana

as a top-tier international destination for investment, tourism, entertain ment, sports, food, and cultural activi ties.

There is something for everyone to enjoy, including music festivals, food shows, concerts, competitions, and or ganised tours.

More importantly, the Government’s intention through the events is to invest in its people as a springboard that will foster economic opportunities for every Guyanese.

In advance of the CPL, we noted that hotels were booked solid and nu merous economic opportunities have opened up for bed and breakfast ac commodations, vendors, restaurants, bars, transportation services, and tour operators.

Guyana is rapidly evolving as an oil and gas market, and our Government has mapped out a transformational de velopment trajectory that will ensure the diversification of our economy by using the gains from this natural re source for countrywide development.

We will continue to build out many new pillars so that our econo my will be resilient, strong and sus tainable. Combined, CPL and the Cricket Carnival is one such avenue Government has adopted as a unifying catalyst for economic growth.

On behalf of the Government and the people of Guyana, I am pleased to extend a warm welcome to thousands of visitors from across the globe, par ticularly our Caribbean Region.

places, our history has made us appreciate life more, since it could have been so easily taken from us. This year, we have launched a unique Cricket Carnival to bring it all to gether!

Cricket has been an integral part of Caribbean life, and as I have said in previ ous years, T20 might have been launched elsewhere, but its joie de vivre and all its synonyms – cheerfulness, cheer, light-heart edness, merriment, glee, gladness, happi ness, joy, joyfulness, joyousness, delight, pleasure, high spirits, good spirits, good hu mour, jollity, jolliness, hilarity, mirth, jovi ality, exuberance, elation, exultation, eu phoria, jubilation – declare it was “born” in the West Indies.

Once again, on behalf of your Guyana Amazon Warriors I ask that you join me as I say with all sincerity:

GO WARRIORS! – Let us celebrate the joy of Caribbean Cricket!!

“T

he 10th anniversary finals in Guyana will be the biggest finals the CPL has ever had. We’ll have sellout crowds to all the games, there’s going to be an extraordinary atmosphere. As I said, that coming togeth er of Carnival and cricket will never be seen better than in Guyana this year. So, for us it is all about, you know, enjoy ing what’s ahead. I think it’s going to be a phenomenal few days in Guyana, and I hope all the fans, both watching at home and in the stadium, will enjoy the experience.”

Guyanese Peters relishing experience with CPL marketing team

Afterworking at Digicel for 14 years, Guyanese Delon Justin Peters is enjoying working with the biggest party in sport, Caribbean Premier League. The businessman, who is also a sponsorship officer at CPL said he has learned valuable lessons during his journey from Digicel to CPL.

Peters had enjoyed working at Digicel but the party atmosphere in CPL and the fans are a joy. “Loving it. It is the best job I think I have had next to Digicel. I have worked at Digicel for quite a few years, so we were accus tomed to getting stuff done, but now being integrated into the sport, into cricket it is even more fun.”

“While I do not follow the games per se, it is always fun to see the people and enjoy themselves, and me being a big part of it, I enjoyed that,” Peters said.

The Guyanese, who is often spotted on television presenting cheques to fans of dif ferent CPL matches, gave an insight into his job with CPL. “I am one of the sponsorship officers at CPL, and our main focus is to make sure that the sponsor’s activations are prop erly integrated. That the sponsors get the right experience from their partnership,” Peters disclosed.

Equipped with 14 years of experience at Digicel, Peters was familiar with how things are done on an international level, through television.

“Coming from a Digicel background, I am familiar with how things are done internationally, but from a sporting perspective, I think I understand more sponsorship in its entirety, and then sports sponsorship, and then I under stand how TV works because some of us are sitting at home watching these things happening on TV, but we don’t know how these things work.”

“My role allows me to understand how it works when it works. The general knowledge in marketing in its entirety,” Peters explained.

How do you feel about Guyana hosting its 1st CPL Final in the tournament’s 10 year history?

SEON BOVELL

Response: Cricket is one of the most popular games in a majority of the countries. Born in Guyana, the immense interest of cricket has made it popular in many nations where it has become more of a passion, a dream and a part of their blood stream. Great stalwarts like Brian Lara, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Vivian Richards, Greg Chappell and a long list of popular cricketers have added greatness to the game, not to forget Sir Don Bradman. Though it takes on the nerves in nerve-clinching games, the game of cricket is itself a stress reliever and a great entertainment for millions of fans the world over. “Most games are skin deep, but cricket goes to the bone” is the saying that epitomises the fervour of cricket. Whether you win or lose the game or it ends in a tie, it is the game of cricket that always wins. So, to have the CPL finals here in Guyana for the first time is an immense step for our country as a whole. It will help showcase to the tourists what Guyana has to offer and make them want to return.”

SHIVANAND HARIPRASAD

Response: “When the tickets came out, you could have seen the crowds on the first day. As soon as the finals tickets were released, everything was sold out, so everyone is ready for this season and I’m sure for the next three years as well the same thing will happen.”

DELICIA GEORGE

Response: You know after years of it keeping in Trinidad, it feels as though we have accomplished a lot this year by securing the CPL Finals. Most Guyanese will get to step foot into the experience. It is a proud moment for all Guyanese.

PERNELL CHRISTIE

Response: To have the CPL Finals hosted here in Guyana was long overdue given the support that the Guyanese people show to cricket as a whole and not just the Amazon Warriors. I’m sure we will come out in our numbers regardless of which two teams will be in the Finals because at the end of the day, we all represent West Indies Cricket.

AREEB ALI

Response: It feels amazing. Cricket is such a great sport here in the country and we rally behind our teams through and through. Guyanese thirst for games to be played here so to have the finals being hosted is a dream come through. The Guyana Amazon Warriors have been to the final so many times and not won so maybe now they’re getting that last ingredient which is to play in their backyard and win.

SUNIL RAMLALL

Response: “I’m excited and I know my Guyanese brothers and sisters are ecstatic. You can have a look for yourself, the tickets that were released sold out a few hours after they became available. That tells you something, after a twoyear pause of CPL due to the pandemic, Guyana cricket crazed! We have the play-offs and finals for the next three years to go hand in hand with the Cricket Carnival and we all know the Warriors fans always think to themselves, “this year is we year!”

Response: “I feel an immeasurable amount of pride that the CPL finals are being hosted here after so many years. To be able to go and enjoy the sport itself with other fans in such an exciting atmosphere is honestly incredible. It would be even more amazing if Guyana makes it to the finals, because I would be able to support my favourite team in person. A victory in Guyana’s home turf would be poetic and iconic and I feel like this is the perfect time for us to win the title.”

Response: “As a sports fan to have the second most-watched T20 league final being hosted in my country is amazing – moreover, in its 10th anniversary, definitely is momentous. It’s investment in sports tourism for our country. I hope it’s a signal of the beginning of major investment in sports for Guyana.”

LAKANAND SINGH

Response: It is a wonderful feeling as a patriotic Guyanese citizen to have the finals being hosted, in a franchise that has reached the finals in almost every CPL tournament thus far. So, as a Guyanese fan it has been a long time coming to have the tournament hosted here and hopefull this is our lucky year.

VARSHA BOODRAM

Response: “Truly a great feeling. The Guyanese fans certainly welcome this inaugural event and look forward to the excitement of it. It will also be a memorable one if Warriors finally win on their home turf.”

ISHAKA JACKMAN

JENNIFER SAM

Scenes from Guyana Amazon Warriors home games at Providence

CPL 2022: Warriors, Royals, Kings and Tallawahs into playoffs

Knight Riders were knocked out of the Caribbean Premier League for the first time in the tournament’s ten-year history. Guyana Amazon Warriors handed TKR the knockout punch at Providence on a super Saturday to storm into the play-offs while Barbados Royals, St Lucia Kings, and Jamaica Tallawahs are the oth er teams into the final rounds.

Trinbago

The Warriors had a slow start to the season, suffering defeats away from home, but upon return to its home turf, the team dominated with clinical wins, especially against one of the most anticipated and talked about matches on Saturday evening.

During the home games, the magnificent Shai Hope and Afghanistan’s Rahmanulla Gurbaz scored half-centuries while other players chipped in.

Shimron Hetmyer has chipped in with runs on a consis tent basis, but he was not as dominant throughout the sea son. Leading the team for the first time, Hetmyer continues to learn from every game, and with the addition of Gurbaz and Shakib, the Warriors were in full flow at the crunch time of the season.

The dangerous Odean Smith who has often come and ex ploded at the end, has a strike rate of over 200 this season with the bat, while Keemo Paul has also chipped in at the end. Opener Chanderpaul Hemraj is due for a big score and that innings might come in the final games.

From a bowling perspective, the veteran Warrior, Imran Tahir has 10 wickets while Smith has seven wick

ets. Tabriz Shamsi, who departed for international duties, had claimed eight wickets in the five matches he played. Gudakesh Motie has been economical in his outings bowl ing some death overs, while the young Junior Sinclair has shown great promise.

“Fantastically well done by the boys. Don’t have enough words to express how great they were. Really really proud of them. Gurbaz came in and felt at home really. Back-to-back fifties - we can see he’s comfortable now,” Hetmyer said after the win against TKR.

Barbados Royals, the form team

The Barbaos Royals have shown dominance from the in ception of CPL 2022. Led by David Miller, and Kyle Mayers, Royals came and conquered. Mayers led the batting with more than 300 runs while South African trio, Miller, Quinton de Kock, and Corbin Bosch showed class with the bat. However, the trio departed for international duties, but Azam Khan stepped up when the team needed him.

In the bowling department, Jason Holder and Obed McCoy are star performers while Afghanistan ace spinner, Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been a threat to opponents.

The Royals who struggled to qualify in previous seasons, changed their management and looked like a stronger team this season.

Tallawahs flexing muscle

have carried the Jamaica Tallawahs this season.

Powell has been racking up half centuries while King was all royalty at Providence when he scored that brilliant century against the warriors. Raymon Reifer has been a silent contributor and he was also rewarded with a West Indies call-up at the 2022 T20 World Cup.

Pakistan’s duo Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir has also been outstanding with the ball all season, impressing the Assistant Coach, and legend, Sir Curtly Ambrose.

Kings inspired by home support and Sammy

In the King’s camp, former West Indies Captain, Daren Sammy now head coach for the team has been an inspira tion to the team. The home support in St Lucia was impres sive as the batting of Johnson Charles, who has more than 300 runs this season.

Captain Faf du Plessis was impressive with a fantastic knock of a century at Providence and he continues to lead his troops well.

David Wiese has contributed all-around for his side while Alzarri Joseph has been a superstar with the ball. He has also been bowling at a serious pace this season. The four teams have shown differences in approach, and this sets up a close contest in the playoffs.

Now that the stage is set for the final showdown, the fans are hoping that their team goes through to the final which is set for Friday, September 30 at 19:00h.

West Indies players Brandon King and Rovman Powell

Guyana Amazon Warriors Barbados Royals

Jamaica Tallawahs

Lucia

Realising the CPL dream, 10 years down the line

By Jemima Holmes

Tenyears, to many, can seem like a very long time; but when you’re enjoying your favourite sport on a sunny day in the Caribbean, with some of the world’s most explosive talents waving back from the bound ary, your favourite tunes blasting loudly from several speakers, the prettiest cheerleaders grooving to the beat and of course, mouth-wa tering delicacies and drinks flowing freely, 10 years can pass ever so quickly.

And even for the most fanatical of partygoers or sport lovers, a constant factor every year for 10 years can get monotonous, bor ing, and dreary. Not the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) though.

Ticket sales for this year’s Hero CPL final in Guyana is testament to not only the tourna ment’s ability to keep the Caribbean engaged, but to the growth that a particular group hoped for, 10 years ago.

“The key thing for us was to differentiate and our key proposition was always well, what we’re looking to do is combine cricket with carnival. You know, we wanted to make sure that from a fan perspective, fans could come and watch our games – obviously enjoy great cricket, cricket always had to be the primary driver, but also have a good time, cre ate an atmosphere and a vibe that was truly Caribbean and the Caribbean people really bought into,” Hero CPL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pete Russell said about the vision of the tournament.

But things weren’t always as good as they are now, tick ets didn’t always go like hot cakes.

“The first game that we played, which was in Barbados, which was Barbados play ing St Lucia and actually four days before the game, we’d lit erally sold probably 200 tick ets, something like that. So, it wasn’t looking great. But we had a fantastic surge three days before and there was huge amount of marketing ef fort, lots of innovation was created by spon sors and ourselves,” Russell recalled.

“And I remember just looking at that first game, it was packed, it was absolutely packed and the vibe and the atmosphere was just amazing. And that sort of set the tone really for what was to come.”

Although for most, the Hero CPL is all about the game and ensuing entertainment, the work behind the scenes to produce the “Biggest Party in Sport” has been, and still is, arduous. Being an annual event, the CPL’s most difficult task is to keep fans engaged for 11 months, each year, when their tournament wasn’t in action.

Russell explained to this publication, “That is a challenge, of course, but I think that the key is to make the tournament as good as it can be. So, everyone’s experience when they go to a CPL game has to be I want more of that. I want to go back, I want to want to be part of a CPL game in the future. Because that’s obviously, you know, how you get peo ple to return in future years, but you have to give them not only value for money but a great entertainment experience.”

Sharing some of the entity’s secrets, Russell credited not only CPL’s motivation, but the role that franchises play.

“The one thing that I would say is what we’re very conscious of – and it’s a little bit like how NFL do it – you don’t want to saturate the market. You don’t want to be too much, do too much. You want everyone to have a great time, but at the end of it, want more.”

He said with a smile, “But, of course, what’s been fantastic over the 10 years is that there’s been great rivalries created within teams and between players across those teams, so, it is all about balancing.”

Touching on the CPL’s six franchises, Russell said: “The teams have learned over the years how to deliver on the pitch and off the pitch. So, there’s a huge amount that goes into it. And we’re very grateful for the team owners that we now have who we believe are second to none in terms of world cricket.”

Now, where would the CPL be without its sponsors? Before the famous Hero motor cycle was posted up in stadiums across the Caribbean, there were bottles of Limacol be ing distributed, right alongside tastes of El Dorado’s special brews and Republic Bank’s fan stand – a perfect picture of support.

Russell figures the CPL would be close to

we’ve had,” the CPL CEO went on to add.

Of course, by now the cat is out the bag; Guyana

Cricket Carnival, that in some ways can be seen as the celebration of CPL’s milestone. Ten years ago, the fusion of carnival and crick et was nothing but a vision, now it will engulf entertainment spots in Guyana.

“Well, His Excellency, the President has been a huge fan of CPL really from the early days and he’s always been very keen and obviously instrumental in in terms of getting the finals to Guyana. But what he was clear about was al ways to make sure that that carnival atmosphere, the car nival side of things was cre ated not just in the cricket ground but outside it,” Russell said in talking about Guyana “bringing to life” that dream.

Between the first final and the Cricket Carnival, Guyana is truly living the CPL dream.

Back in 2013, before the CPL even began, GAW Chairman Dr Ranjisinghi “Bobby” Ramroop had shared, “We believe in the transfor mative potential of CPL for the Caribbean Region. Not only does it promise to com pletely rejuvenate and revit alise cricket in the Caribbean, it has the potential to provide a tremendous economic and social boost as well.”

10 years on and truer words…

lost without the corporate boost.

“I mean, bluntly put, if you don’t have sponsors, you don’t have a tournament. They are the lifeblood from a financial per spective. So, you know, they’re very important, but, of course, you know, they don’t do it just out of largess, they do it be cause there’s a value to them to their business es and obvious ly, how they’re able to interact with their cus tomers.”

“We’re very proud of all the relationships

CPL CEO Pete Russell

The Hetmyer-led

GAW team is equipped with balance and skill

The Hetmyer-led GAW team are equipped with balance and skill

Shimron Hetmyer leads the Guyana Amazon Warriors into bat tle in the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

The former West Indies U-19 World Cup-winning Captain has a team equipped with balance and great skill. In the batting department, Hetmyer is expected to play a major role while the experienced overseas pros Paul Stirling, Colin Ingram, and Henrich Klaasen offer firepower.

GAW batting in focus

Hetmyer has 145 T20 matches under his belt and 2784 runs. He has an average of 26.26 and a healthy strike rate of 132.5. With 15 half-centuries and one century, the ultratalented Hetmyer will be a prize scalp for any opposition. He will remember his U-19 World Cup glory, and will have intentions of leading the Warriors to a title win at home.

Aggressive Irish opener Paul Stirling has been in red-hot form in 2022. The experienced opener has 306 T20 match es under his belt and 7628 runs. He has a strike rate of 142, with three centuries and 49 half-centuries in the T20

format. His experience and skill will certainly boost the Warriors’ chances of winning 2022 CPL.

South Africa’s wicket-keeper batsman Henrich Klaasen has played in 124 T20s and has 2335 runs, averaging 28. He has a healthy strike rate of 136.4 and having played in T20 tournaments around the globe, he is expected to shine bright in Warriors kit. Colin Ingram, another overseas pro, has 317 T20 caps with 7721 runs. Ingram, who is no strang er to the CPL, having played for Trinbago Knight Riders, has four centuries in this format and 47 half-centuries. His strike rate of 137.6 will certainly boost the middle order.

First-choice Guyanese opener Chandrapaul Hemraj, who scored a majestic century against Barbados Royals in CPL, entered this tournament in serious form. Hemraj has 33 T20s under his belt with 730 runs. He will be aiming to extend consistency and return to the West Indies colours.

West Indies’ number 1 One-Day International batsman, Shai Hope has been eager to strengthen his shorter format credentials. The very classy batsman played 54 T20s and has 979 runs with three fifties in the format. Given there is a chance of players being unavailable, Hope bats at the top of the order, a position he batted in the past for Barbados and the West Indies.

West Indies Test Vice Captain Jermaine Blackwood pro vides that balance to the middle order once the opportuni ty arises. He has played 27 T20 matches and has only 357 runs, but the Jamaican batsman with three Test centuries is capable of producing more.

Tahir leads versatile bowling group

Imran Tahir ages like fine wine. The 43-year-old vet eran has played 362 match es and has 453 wickets with best bowling figures of 5-23. He has a bowling average of 19.78, an economy rate of 6.9 and a strike rate of 12. Simply amazing. With 10 four-wick et hauls and three five-wick et hauls under his belt, Tahir has been a handful for all teams at the Hero CPL.

left-arm wrist spinner, has 195 matches to his name and 223 wickets. He has an average of 22.3, an economy rate of 7.28, and five four-wicket hauls.

Gudakesh Motie continues to climb the ranks, having made his international debut this year. He had a good de but season with the Warriors last year and was among the players retained. With seven T20s in his blooming career and eight wickets, Motie’s economy rate of 6.6 has shown his ability to bowl to big players and keep them quiet. His Albion clubmate, Veerasammy Permaul is also with the Warriors this season. He has played 89 T20s and has 61 wickets. Having shown his skills to bowl in the powerplay, Permaul has an impressive economy rate of 6.95.

Ronsford Beaton, Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd, and Odean Smith are the seam bowlers for the GAW. Beaton, arguably the fastest of the lot, has 48 matches under his belt and has 42 wickets. He has best bowling figures of 4-9, and after remodelling his action, he will be hungry to show case his pace.

Smith and Shepherd, who were the top wicket-takers in the 2021 CPL, are hungry for more success. The West Indies all-rounders who also have prowess with the bat play im portant roles for Warriors. Smith has played in 50 T20s and has 55 wickets. He has best bowling figures of 4-30 at an av erage of 25.

Shepherd has 65 wickets in 56 matches at 22.7 with best bowling figures of 4-13 and an economy rate of 9. His bat ting strike rate of 153 and high score of 72* adds that bal ance to the Warriors team. The returning Paul, a son of the soil, has played in 81 T20s and has 70 wickets to his name. He is aiming to stay fit and focused to help Warriors clinch the championship at home. He is also among the few bowl ers in T20 cricket to claim a five-wicket haul. His best of 5-15 shows his quality.

Meanwhile, the emerging players, Matthew Nandu and Junior Sinclair are expected to show their talent when giv en an opportunity. Nandu is a West Indies U-19 top-order batsman, who scored a century against PNG in the recent World Cup in the Caribbean. The young Sinclair is a ver satile cricketer, who bowls off-spin and bats right-hand. electric fielder and announced himself at the senior stage, when he dominated the Guyana Harpy Eagles trial matches with his off-spin.

uphor ic scenes took

over Warner Park Stadium on Sunday, September 4, as the Trinbago Knight Riders Women rev elled in the team’s first Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) victory and a landmark achieve ment for past, current, and future female cricket ers across the Region.

Three years ago, the Hero CPL made its first attempt at including the Region’s female cricketers in the “Biggest Party in Sport”. In 2019, the League tested the waters with a twoteam T10 tournament, hosted solely in Trinidad and Tobago.

While the participating teams had their own spon sors, that tournament was nothing close to what the CPL would initiate as part of its 10th anniversary cel ebrations in 2022.

“Of course, you’ve got the Women’s CPL, which for me is going to be great because it’s the first time we’ve obviously done it in its franchise for mat,” Hero CPL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pete Russell had shared at the onset.

The franchise tournament was intended for more than just inclusion purposes, however, but rather as an opportunity to ignite the women’s game in the Caribbean Region.

Russell explained, “That’s where we see a growth opportu nity for the sport across the Region. We have a huge fan base; we’ve got a very large number of women and girls who come and watch the games. So, hopefully, by seeing women in action that will encourage them to go and play the game too.”

It is safe to say that after the conclusion of the women’s tournament, that vision is slowly being realised. Ranging from Quiana Joseph’s all-round heroics to get the Barbados Royals into the WCPL final, Deandra Dottin’s lone campaign for the Trinbago Knight Riders in said final, or the bravery of Shabika Gajnabi and Cherry-Ann Fraser as they put Guyana Amazon Warriors Women into positions of power, the WCPL was the perfect showcase for the talent of regional women.

From the players’ perspective, the Massy WCPL has been able to achieve all that it set out to do.

WCPL: The key to transforming the Women’s game

E“I think the whole reason and a lot of im portance in this tournament, is definitely the growth of young players, and I think the more young players we could have coming through a system like this, the better it’s go ing to be for West Indies cricket on a whole,” Barbados Royals and West Indies Women’s Captain Hayley Matthews shared about the potential of the tournament.

She added, “Obviously, we’re going to want young players developing, break out in tournaments like these and come into the West Indies set-up and, hopefully, on to the international level.”

Even further, Matthews believes that the inclusion of female international stars will do well to lend to the goal of bettering young regional talent.

Matthews related, “So, I think getting the opportunity to play with players like Chloe Tryon, the Suné Lusses and these very experienced players from overseas, I think the young players could hope fully pick their brains a bit, take the opportunity to try to learn from them.

“And hopefully, we’ll be able to have them progress a bit quicker than just being in a domestic set-up.”

Former West Indies Women’s Captain and Captain of the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) Women, Stafanie Taylor wholly agrees.

“Hopefully, we could definitely give some young faces op portunity ‘cause sometimes it’s not all about winning, but also improve other players and I think that’s what you want,” Taylor shared.

“We have some young players in the group and we’ll defi nitely want to give them the opportunity on the stage, to show case what they could do,” the GAW Captain went on to relate.

The vision was clear and the execution, even better. It may take another 10 years, but the WCPL is sure to bring new, ex citing and refreshing talent to the West Indies Women.

Trinbago Knight Riders Women lifted the inaugural Massy WCPL trophy

Shabika Gajnabi and Cherry-Ann Fraser were among some of the exciting female talents on display

aspiring to be a top-notch venue

…MAJOR WORKS ON THE HORIZON

By TimoThy Jaikarran

The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will be coming to Guyana and the ex citement is in the air. To add some more icing on the cake, the grand finale will also be held here. For the Everest Cricket Club, lo cated at Carifesta Avenue, this means that it will be used as a practice venue for the games which will be held at Providence Stadium.

President of the Club, Manzoor Nadir is ex tremely proud of this accomplishment as the club is taking the right strides in becoming a top-notch venue.

In a comment, he said, “The executive and members and I, yeah, a few years ago, decid ed that we have to take the club to the high est level in terms of its facilities where sport, recreation and the com fort of members are con cerned. And in this re gard, we had embarked and we have a pro gramme to upgrade all of our facilities to what we consider to be good inter national standards. This is a programme that saw us invest in our facilities for our people and also in vest in the facilities that will improve the comfort for our members. What are those in particular? We have built a very nice lounge – what we call the Baroda Lounge because the Baroda Bank gave us the resources to start our project. Our clubhouse

status, and we have a full report on that which we are now work ing to implement. The facilities for our patrons, not just the members, have tremendously improved our stands, we have excellent wash room facilities which exist for visi tors who come to watch a game.. an ordinary game at Everest.”

The Everest President further related that the club has worked assiduously to improve and keep the grounds. He boasted that the pitch was in tip-top shape and they have invested in a broadcast box, which is equipped with fibre-optic Internet facilities. He explained that there has been a lot that the

has gone through significant improvement in terms of its renovation to accommodate our guests. We have invested a tremendous amount of resources in preparing for safety is sues as a club. We have a brand-new metal fire escape. We asked the fire department to give us a review of our occupational safety and fire

club has done in the last 14 months and there is more to come.

“I must say that all of the work that we have embarked on [paid] not only the club div idends but also brought recognition to Guyana as a whole when the ICC [International Cricket Council ]-Cricket West Indies team visited in September of 2021. They were look

ing for two broadcast venues for cricket, in order for Guyana to qualify to host the ICC U-19 matches. We were very honoured that the ICC said that Everest is almost there to be a broadcast venue. We had to do a few oth er things which we gladly consented to do to bring us up to par and these were things like raising our northern sightscreen by four feet. So that when the batsman from the southern end is looking to North, there is enough cover age with black screen. We had to mount bars on top of those screens and run the electri cals to house the cameras for live broadcast. We also had to put in place additional wash rooms and urinals for the players, and we had to have at least two showers, two toilets, two urinals, and two hand sinks in both dressing rooms,” he shared.

Nadir also shared that a lot of work has gone into the venue and its improvements, something which he is proud of. He went on to share that aside from the ICC U-19 match es, the club has hosted the regional women’s tournament and other regional matches. He divulged that while at most times, other ven ues were unplayable, at Everest because of the work they continuously do, the club was able to provide facilities for training and they match the highest level, as the GCB Harpy Eagles had used the club’s facilities for train ing prior to their departure earlier this year

for the regional four-day tourna ment. As it relates to the club be ing chosen as one of the practice venues for CPL 2022, Nadir said that the club was extremely hon oured to be chosen.

“When Operations Director Michael Hall visited, he said Everest was a no-brainer, he felt so proud, with almost an instan taneous approval of the facility. But we know we have to do much more and for CPL, we are putting facilities in place which will stay in place, such as laundering tow els; when our sports people come, they can have a shower. We have a full kitchen at Everest: every thing we provide in terms of eat ing is provided on site and that kitchen is going to be expanded. We do have some concern with the pitch, as we saw in the Bangladesh series at Providence, we saw quite a bit of negative comments and that is because of the inclement weather, we had to cover the pitch. So, Everest will now have to look at bringing in the roll-on covers, that will put the tarpaulin directly on to the surface, but give breathing space between the tarpaulin and the pitch,” Nadir stated.

Going forward, he clarified that the club’s intention was to add more pitches on the square while expanding the field, so the northern boundary will go 40 feet to the north and the eastern boundary will go 30 feet to the east, which will add a tremendous amount of space. Nadir also shared that they will also be lengthening the pitches, which will require the club to take the square 10 feet to the north as there is little buffer zones between the stands and the boundaries.

“One of our prides at Everest is our hybrid power system that was installed and we don’t want to boast, but we will proudly say that Everest is, by far, the only club that has a sig nificant amount of energy consumption com ing from solar generation. So, we are looking at the environment, we’re looking at the club’s own contribution to development,” he said.

Everest Cricket Club President Manzoor Nadir EVEREST

CPL's newcomer Paul Stirlingenjoying Caribbean atmosphere

The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) offers great vibes and an electric atmosphere. The general unique culture of the different Caribbean countries is often relished by the overseas players.

For Irishman Paul Stirling, he is relishing the different Caribbean countries in this, his maiden stint in the CPL. He is certainly enjoying the tournament, despite having a slow start. The 32-year-old, who has played in more than 300 T20 matches around the globe, said he enjoyed St Kitts and the general atmosphere.

When asked about the impact he is hoping to make, Stirling said he aimed to score runs at a fast rate. “I think just come here and score runs at a good rate. You have to weigh up every condition and speaking to the teammates, the conditions change in each island, not dramatically, but a little bit. Coming here to St Lucia, there was extra bounce and pace, so a few things like that, I heard so many good things about the competition, so I am really enjoying it,” Stirling said.

Historically, the Amazon Warriors are known for making the play-offs but not crossing the final hurdle. However, Stirling is confident of the group of players. “They seem to be do ing a lot of things right, which is showing, going to the finals each time, so they are desper ate to get one step further and win it this year. All you can do is keep putting yourselves in those positions, and eventually you will get across the line,” Stirling said.

The aggressive Irish opener has been in red-hot form in 2022. The experienced opener has 306 T20 matches under his belt and 7628 runs. He has a strike rate of 142, with three centuries and 49 half-centuries in the T20 format. His experience and skill will certainly boost the Warriors’ chances of winning the 2022 CPL.

Paul Stirling in the nets for Amazon Warriors in St Lucia (Brandon Corlette photos)