Guyana Times - Tuesday, June 27, 2023

La Grange woman killed by speeding car

The life of 52-year-old Vidya Tie of Samaroo Scheme, La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD), was snuffed out after she was struck down by a speeding car on Monday.

Police in a release stated that the accident occurred at about 05:50h along the La Grange Public Road, WBD, and involved a taxi that was at the time being driven by a 35-year-old resident of Shopping Plaza, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

Based on reports re-

ceived, the taxi bearing registration number HD 3435 was proceeding along the western side of the road at a fast rate when the driver alleged that while he was in the process of overtaking a motor car, the pedestrian suddenly ran across the said road.

As a result, he further stated that the left side front portion of his car collided with the now dead woman. Due to the impact, Tie was flung onto the bonnet and windscreen of the car, then

fell onto the roadway where she sustained injuries to her body.

She was picked up in an unconscious state by the Police and taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The driver was arrested following which a breathalyser test was administered but there were no traces of alcohol in his system. He remains in custody pending further investigations.

Berbice family

calls for justice for man killed

by speeding driver on EBD highway

Family members of 33-year-old Joshua Madanlall, who was killed by a speeding and intoxicated driver on Saturday night, are calling for justice, noting that the father of one has made tremendous sacrifices for his loved ones and did not deserve to die in such a horrific manner.

Madanlall, also known as “Bangie”, was a construction worker of Second Street, Number Two Village, East Canje, Berbice.

The fatal accident occurred around 20:40h on Saturday along the Little Diamond New Access Road, also known as the Mocha to Diamond New Road.

According to Police reports, a hire car, HB 6038, was travelling south along the eastern driving lane of the New Diamond Access Road at a fast rate. However, while in the vicinity of Prospect New Housing Scheme, the left front portion of the vehicle collided with Madanlall, who was walking on the edge of the road.

The impact caused the pedestrian to be thrown in a south-eastern direction, resulting in his head hitting the right rear side of another motor car, PRR

440, which was parked on the eastern parapet of the road.

Madanlall was pronounced dead at the scene. The man’s wife, Ann Gorsira, said her husband was heading home from work when the accident occurred.

“In the video, we see some of the brains pitch out from his head, his forehead smash in, and a part of his hand crush,” the woman recalled.

Madanlall had been working at a location at Diamond for close to two months and went home to his family in Berbice, fortnightly.

“The last I heard from him was Friday morning at about 9:30h and he tell me that he would work late and he would travel and come down late Friday night. Then he tell me that he would buy something for his daughter and he asked me if I would want chicken and I said ‘no’. He asked me if I can make two roti for him… he also talk to his daughter,” the woman said in recounting the last conversation she had with her husband.

Meanwhile, Police say following the crash, the driver of the speeding car was apprehended by villag-

ers at Seventh Avenue in Diamond.

According to the Police, a breathalyser test revealed alcohol levels of 94 micrograms and 93 micrograms in his system, exceeding the prescribed limit of 35 micrograms.

Family members are calling for justice, noting that Madanlall was the breadwinner for his family including his three-yearold daughter who is expected to begin her schooling in September.

Meanwhile, the Police say the driver was served a Notice of Intended Prosecution. He is expected to appear in court sometime this week. (Andrew Carmichael)

The now dead woman lying on the roadway

Dead: Joshua Madanlall

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Tuesday, June 27 – 11:30h –12:00h and Wednesday, June 28 – 00:30h – 02:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Tuesday, June 27 – 10:25h –11:55h and Wednesday, June 28 – 11:35h – 13:05h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

There will be thundery showers during the day. Expect light rain showers at night. Temperatures should range between 23 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Winds: South South-Easterly to Easterly between 1.78 metres and 3.12 metres.

High Tide: 11:15h and 23:44h reaching maximum heights of 2.25 metres and 2.29 metres.

Low Tide: 17:12h reaching a minimum height of 0.96 metre.

OPEC invites Guyana to join meetings, upcoming seminar, ministerial panel ...as interest in country on world stage grows

As interest in Guyana grows, it turns out that the country has been invited to take part in the upcoming Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) international seminar in Vienna, Austria.

Reports out of the Wall Street Journal had indicated that Guyana was invited to become a member of OPEC itself, by Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister, Abdulaziz bin Salman and OPEC Secretary General

LOTTERY NUMBERS

Haitham al-Ghais.

When contacted by this publication, however, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat could not confirm whether this was indeed the case.

Additionally, a Reuters article quoted Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo denying that Guyana had been formally invited to join OPEC,

an intergovernmental organisation of oil-exporting developing nations that includes such countries as Algeria, Angola, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela.

Rather, Jagdeo said that Guyana has been invited to participate in OPEC meetings. This is understood to include the upcoming seminar in Vienna, Austria,

that will last from July 5-6, 2023, at the Hofburg Palace, as well as participate in a Ministerial Panel that will deal with the diversification of energy.

VP Jagdeo has been vocal about the People’s

Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s intentions of maximising oil production for Guyana in the limited window oil currently has on the world stage. This would be counter to OPEC, which has in the past had its members curb production as a price control measure for oil on the global market. In fact, such a decision was made in April 2023.

Guyana, with United States (US) oil giant ExxonMobil as the operator, began producing oil on December 20, 2019, in the Stabroek Block. Guyana’s oil revenues are being held in the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) at the New York Federal Reserve Bank, where it is earning interest.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

Reports indicate Guyana has been invited to take part in OPEC’s upcoming Austrian summit

Editor: Tusika Martin

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Human rights

One of the challenges to nation-building that is not discussed widely enough is, ironically, the focus of the United Nations and other institutions of the modern state system on “human rights”. Because of the universal adoption of the UN Declaration of Human Rights and its adoption into national statutory binding laws with nary a mention of “human duties”, a situation has been fostered where individuals are simply driven to exercise those rights. Upon being pressed, they may concede that each “right” implies a correlative “duty”, but the latter is lost in the shuffle.

However, even the most cursory reflection on the reality of human rights suggests this imbalance creates an untenable situation. For instance, unless rights of citizens are backed up by a duty of the State to enforce them, they are simply aspirational. And if the state does fulfil its duty to enforce the rights of its citizens – say to insist the forces of law and order ensure citizens are not subject to violent assaults by other citizens – do not citizens have a duty to pay their taxes so the forces of law and order can be compensated?

At one time, almost all societies via the “religions” they practised – Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Confucianism and African religions – focused on the duties of individuals rather than their rights. But in the West at least, this led to great abuses when the ruling strata used their “might” to ensure the duties only flowed upwards. While in theory, the feudal lords might have a duty to their serfs, who was going to apply sanctions on the former if they lapsed? The struggle for “rights” was, therefore, launched within the “Enlightenment” to correct this state of affairs first as movements for reform in the 17th Century in Europe and then via revolutions at the end of the 18th.

But the emphasis on duties did not just disappear immediately: in fact, they were used to inculcate the new privileging of individual “human rights”. For instance, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen of 1789 – stressing “life, liberty and fraternity” has its counterpart in the 1795 Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and Citizen of 1795. It noted pertinently: “The maintenance of society requires that those who compose it should both know and fulfil their duties.” But with the passage of time, the baby was thrown out with the bathwater and henceforth, the “Rights of Man” held centre stage.

The flaw in the argument for individual rights lies in eliding the fact that man is not a solitary being but a social one. And the exigencies of that existence demand the necessary reciprocity of expectations to coordinate the activities of the collectivity for its survival to be sustained through corresponding rights and duties. The right to drive one’s car on the road implied the duty to drive on one mutually agreed side, so that anarchy does not become the norm. But, unfortunately, even though the individual right to accumulate at the expense of the collective has led to an ever-widening gap between “the haves and the have-nots”, the duty that is implicit in distributive justice even in the welfare state has not offered a vocabulary to make duty as fundamental as rights.

Of recent, the reintroduction of “duties” of man is coming from an unexpected quarter: environmentalism. Part and parcel of the post-Enlightenment insistence on the “rights of man” was man’s “dominion” over the earth and his right to “exploit” it as he saw fit. While there were early reactions against such thinking, notably among the 19th Century Romantics, they were dismissed as “idealists”. But with the earth facing a catastrophic climatic disaster, there is now a growing awareness that man also has a duty towards his environment.

We have to transpose that global concern to our local Guyanese circumstance. We each have to be our brother’s keeper or we all face disaster.

Attacking the US Ambassador and American corporate executives in poor taste

Dear Editor,

Columnist and supposedly God-sent GHK Lall has egregiously breached protocol with his personal attacks on US Ambassador SarahAnn Lynch, and Exxon Country Head Alistair Routledge. Referring to Her Excellency, SarahAnn Lynch, and Alistair Routledge, Lall barks the following insult – “Their verbal sorceries are seen through, their maternalism and paternalism discerned for the cheapness and insulting nature of both, and the ravages wreaked on a poor, backward nation under democracy and contract sanctity (KN6/26/2023).

Here is the definition of sorcery according to Cambridge Dictionary – “a type of magic in which spirits, especially evil ones, are used to make things happen.” So, what do we have here, other than a privileged Guyanese man of religion who recently claimed that he was doing God’s work, attacking the American Ambassador, and the head of Guyana’s number one source of FDI, in the languages of the evil ones?

Not to leave out his favourite object of daily personal attacks, GHK Lall says the following about Vice President Jagdeo – “He cowers…before geopolitical and geostrategic imperatives, fears the political implications of raising his hand and voice.” What this time we have here is a paper tiger messing around with a lion. It is comical and does

not require any substantive response. In what follows; therefore, I ask for the attention of the Guyanese people, not for Paper-Tiger GHK Lall.

Let me address the blatant and callous insult against Ambassador Lynch, whose contribution to Guyana became legendary in real-time. Ambassador, allow me to apologise on behalf of all Guyanese for the boorishness of Mr GHK Lall. We also take this opportunity to thank you for your courageous, determined, and selfless service to this country. Your defence of democracy will never be forgotten, nor will we allow those displaying infantile temper tantrums to impugn your credibility or your record.

As for Mr Alistair Routledge, although we wished that the APNU-AFC had negotiated a better contract for Guyana, we do underline that the principle of the sanctity of the contract is sound, and shall be defended. You know that there is new legislation to govern our natural resources that are now under review. You also know that future PSAs will deliver considerably more benefits to the Guyanese economy, and people. But what is also especially important for you to know is that we will not, I repeat, we will not go back to the days of kicking out foreign investors only to return to them later, bent-doubled, with effusive prayers for forgiveness, and a little philanthropic assistance.

To the Guyanese people

who are daily subjected to the insults of development traitors like Melinda Janki and GHK Lall, you should know that last year Exxon Mobil invested $39.2 billion in our oil & gas industry, and in 2021 they pumped in $42.2 billion in our economy.

As Mr Routledge stated, and as President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo have underlined, these investments are sourced from equity, not loans.

An article in Kaieteur News on June 26 (2023) made it appear that the US$1.4 billion we received for the Stabroek Block in 2022 is ‘small change’. Yet, readers should know that Jamaica’s total foreign exchange earnings in the same year were US$1.9B. You all know that Jamaica has three times the population of Guyana.

As it stands, President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo always try to explain to the nation why it is important for investors to recover their investments and also make a profit. This is necessary because of the distortions on oil and gas by the likes of KN’s two Lalls, and Melinda Janki.

The APNU, WPA, and AFC are ideologically against profit-making. They believe in the very economic ideology that bankrupted this country more than once. Most in the WPA would not know how to run a business if handed to them for free. The APNU would probably start sharing out a million dollars apiece to man, wom-

an, child, and also every animal before evening earning a penny. (PS – the European Union does subsidise their cows, so there may be a case for that here).

Economic nationalism has many different forms. The hegemonic states cloak their economic self-interest as ‘public goods’, something that Ravi Dev touched on since 1993 in his employment of Gramsci to flesh out the challenges to political, cultural, and economic advancement in Guyana. And yes, we do have a hegemonic world economic order. The fact that the President of France could muster up so many bodies to talk about reforming the global financial/developmental architecture is proof of this Westerncentric hegemony. It should be critiqued.

There are also forms of defensive economic nationalism. Here, you have leaders in the Global South who are driven by what I see as ‘pragmatic internationalism.’ In this instance, leaders like India’s Modi, South Africa’s Ramaphosa, Barbados’ Mia Mottley, and our own Mohamed Irfaan Ali, are at the leading edge of constructing new ‘regimes’ of development finance, combined with new norms of global governance. In Guyana we are fortunate to have a transformative President, Dr Irfaan Ali, with an experienced past President and current Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, to walk us through the complicated path before us.

The 25th edition of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha’s Naya Zamana was launched on Saturday at Movietowne where several persons who were instrumental in the successful production over the years were recognised. The theatrical spectacular – a combination of storytelling, dance, and song – will be held on August 26 at the National Cultural Centre (NCC). This Amanda Richards photo captured the team for Naya Zamana 25

Raphael Trotman has finally come out of hibernation

Dear Editor, Raphael Trotman has come out of hibernation to write a book, in which he highlights, or should I say, to "lecture" the PPP/C on matters of oil and gas. This guy who was embroiled in a damning sex allegation some years ago, could now come out of the woodwork to give the PPP/C advice on a so-called safe way forward on matters of oil and gas, interesting!

The main thrust of his writing focuses on a renegotiation deal that he and the party mandate that the present Administration should pursue. Now this is a brazen "order" that Mister Trotman

and his associates would like to see take place, in that he fails to realise that contracts are legally binding, especially in this case, a contract that was brokered between two legally established bodies, that is, Government and oil company. In the circumstances of the agreement being breached, there are serious implications, monetary and otherwise that have to be applied here.

What Trotman fails to tell us is that the deal he made with Exxon Mobil was legally binding between a legitimate Government and the oil giant. He was not incapacitated or in any way of an unsound mind when he

Hypocrisy abounds

Dear Editor, Practically every day we are bombarded by news about the Nigel Dharamlall imbroglio.

Yet, when Raphael Trotman had allegations made against him when he was Speaker, Khemraj Ramjattan did not ask him to resign; Red Thread did not protest.

I have not attacked nor defended Nigel Dharamlall in any way. As far as I am aware, the matter is with the DPP.

I have not seen this level of activism by the media since the pre-May 2015

General Election when everything that someone alleged about corruption by the PPP/C was printed ad nauseum.

In fact, concerning the Raphael Trotman case, certain media houses took the position that we should not say anything to tarnish the reputation of Raphael Trotman and he was innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.

What about Nigel Dharamlall? The matter is with the DPP.

Sincerely,

Sean Ori

Attacking the US Ambassador...

brokered that deal on behalf of his Government and country, was he? Then, if there was anything lopsided or what we say "under the table" done in that negotiated deal, then, it is the bounding duty of Trotman to reveal this to us, we would like to know.

But, in that sanctimonious, holier-than-thou posture he has now taken, he has wiped his thoughts clean of this fact. In typical PNC style, he is saying we have given you that "good life" then, however now it is an awfully dirty deal so it is the PPP/C's job to clean it up. This is the foolishness Trotman would like us to buy into.

The point is, the elected Government of the day, that is, the PPP/C would not be brow beaten by the PNC/AFC's shenanigans. As an elected Government, the PPP/C would put all the necessary things in place to keep our country going. We do not need the advice of persons who have now got their brains on to tell us how to operate in the oil and gas industry - and this goes to the so-called experts too. If we need help, we will entertain those who know and have a proven record in the field of oil and gas. We will not be sidetracked by the misguided views of a few tainted individuals. I rest my case.

Respectfully, Neil Adams

Finally, you have those like Melinda Janki and GHK Lall who are development deniers incubated in pathological nationalism. This sort of nationalism is built around making the advocates celebrities. Some even believe that God sent them. Another one by the name of Tom Sanzillo went so far as to say Guyana does not need roads. This foreigner lives

in New York, in that world that Homi Bhabha once described as a world where ‘signs [are] taken for wonders.’ This motley crew owes the Guyanese people an apology for their dottiness.

For starters, I call on GHK Lall to apologise to Her Excellency Sarah-Ann Lynch, Ambassador of the United States to Guyana, for characterising the

Ambassador’s work in the language and imagery of sorcery. This masculinist brinkmanship shall not be tolerated. He should also apologise to Mr Routledge for his statements which are unbecoming of a columnist in a national newspaper. The nation awaits.

Sincerely,

Dr Randolph Persaud

Guyana invited to join...

The oil-rich Stabroek Block, which is producing the oil, is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). Exxon, through its local subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), is the operator and holds 45 per cent interest in the Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30 per cent interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds the remaining 25 per cent interest.

Since last year, Guyana has been recording weekly lifts in the Stabroek Block, with oil production now at 340,000 barrels per day from the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity FPSO vessels. With EEPGL making weekly lifts, Guyana’s crude entitlement of one million barrels occurs monthly from the two

FPSOs.

ExxonMobil has said it anticipates at least six projects offshore Guyana will be online by 2027. Production has already started in the second phase, with the Liza Unity FPSO vessel in operation.

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

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

The Uaru oil develop-

FROM PAGE 3

ment, which will be the fifth one for the company offshore Guyana, is targeting between 38 and 63 development wells, including production, water injection, and gas re-injection wells. Exxon had previously also made known that they anticipate first oil from the Uaru development by late 2026 or early 2027.

Meanwhile, production of oil offshore Guyana will soon be almost doubled as the Prosperity floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel that will service Guyana’s third oil development, Payara, has arrived in the country’s waters.

The arrival of the Prosperity FPSO was announced by EEPGL in April 2023. The vessel will be used in the Payara development, which is slated to begin production later this year.

Page Foundation

Ratios

A ratio compares two numbers by using division.

Example

Six people want to share one pizza. Of course, each person wants a slice of the same size. To find out what part of the pizza each person gets, set up a ratio.

Divide: 1 pizza ÷ 6 people.

Step 1: Express the problem as a fraction:

Step 2: Remove the words:

By using a ratio, you found that if you cut one pizza into six equal parts, each person gets of the pizza.

Exercises: Solve

1) A group of 4 friends has 10 dollars to share. What is each person’s share.

2) John rode his bike 25 kilometres in 3 days. How many kilometres did he ride every day?

3) Henry uses 3 kilograms of butter in a recipe for 15 loaves of bread. How much butter did he use for each loaf?

4)It took six tonnes of crusher run to cover 3 kilometres of road. How much gravel was used for each kilometre?

5) Sunil puts eight litres of gasoline in a 23-litre tank. How much of the tank did he fill?

6) At Mario’s, 5 friends want to share 2 pizzas. If there are 12 slices in each pizza, how many slices does each person get?

By Gerard Manley Hopkins

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.

It will flame out, like shining from shook foil; It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?

Generations have trod, have trod, have trod; And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil; And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent; There lives the dearest freshness deep down things; And though the last lights off the black West went Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs — Because the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Describe the tone of the poem:

- Summarise the poem

- Discuss its form

- Suggest an alternative title, citing evidence from the text

WORD SEARCH

Adjustable royalty rate among APNU’s inputs on draft Petroleum Bill

– GCCI to also make recommendations on Bill

Since completing a draft Petroleum Activities Bill, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government has provided a two-week period for the public to submit their comments. Accordingly, the Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), has made several recommendations for the Bill.

In their statement on the draft Petroleum Activities Bill, APNU said they would contribute more substantially to the Bill when it reaches the floor of the National Assembly for debate before its passage.

In the meantime, the Aubrey Norton-led Opposition made a number of recommendations, including urging that the Bill address issues related to oil block auctions and insurance and liability coverage –in light of recent court cases.

“This Bill potentially provides a good opportunity for us to tighten Guyana’s legislative framework so that citizens can be confident that the company assumes full liability for all environmental and industrial damages and accidents, (including oil spills) both in response to and outside of all claims and demands,” APNU said in its statement.

The Opposition mean-

while acknowledged that the Bill addresses oil companies deferring their royalty payments to the State. While they had no objection to this in times of financial difficulties, the Opposition called for reciprocity. They recommended a price-based, pre-set sliding royalty rate be put in the Bill so that Guyana can be paid more royalties in times of high oil prices.

“Such thinking should be included in the Act, without unduly jeopardising the predictability of the investment climate or fiscal regime. Legislation should make provisions for a price-based, pre-set sliding or variable royalty rate, such as what obtains in the local gold industry,” APNU said.

Another recommendation was for mandated feasibility studies for any Government-led undertaking connected to the oil and gas sector. It was also recommended that the Bill mandate the timely completion and release of cost oil audit reports.

“As audits are pivotal in ensuring the country gets its rightful share of oil revenues and are the main mechanism for oversight of company operations, timely and incisive audits must be explicitly mandated by legislation,” the Opposition added.

“The petroleum activities law, in tandem with the country’s financial Acts, must mandate the timely conduct of audits and the timely release by the Government of audit results to Parliament and the public. Penalties should be instituted on companies for the deliberate provision of false, incomplete, and deceptive information during an audit.”

GCCI

Meanwhile, this publication interviewed Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) President Kester Hutson on Monday. He revealed that the GCCI is itself preparing to submit recommendations for the Bill and in fact has a committee for that very purpose. He also assured that the chamber will participate in the consultations that will accompany the Local Content Bill.

“We have a Petroleum Committee. The chamber has a Petroleum Committee which allows for much engagement from members who operate directly in that sector. And so, we’re actually working on that submission. The submission and discussion by tomorrow.”

“The Local Content one, because we would have advocated for that Local

Content Bill in 2021, we certainly will participate actively with that one too… certainly we will be engaging and providing active feedback on it,” Hutson further said.

Last week, the Natural Resources Ministry released the draft Petroleum Activities Bill that will eventually replace the 1986 Petroleum Act, for a twoweek period of public consultation. Accordingly, public feedback will close on July 3, 2023.

The Bill contains a number of new provisions and very stiff penalties for those who fall afoul of the law. Among the areas it looks to make improvement in is mandating that oil companies make tangible contributions not only on a social level but a capacity-building level.

The Bill contains a provision enforcing petroleum exploration and production licences that may “provide for the payment of a training fee payable annually throughout the validity of the petroleum agreement.”

It also provides for oil companies to establish a system of financial support

for environmental and social projects, which they will fund out of pocket. According to the Bill, “the terms of the programme and the financial contribution by the licensee are established in the petroleum agreement.”

There is also a provision that allows the Government to call on the oil company to supply it with oil if the domestic needs of the country outstrip Guyana’s crude entitlement.

However, the Bill makes it clear that “the volume of crude oil which the licensee shall be required to sell under this section shall not exceed their share of profit oil entitlement under the pe-

troleum agreement.”

Further, the Bill also contains stiff penalties. For instance, an individual can be fined up to $30 million and/or be subjected to up to three years’ imprisonment for any violations under the law. There is also a fine of not more than $10 million for failure to comply with any order issued under the law.

The Bill also expands the legislation to cover carbon dioxide (CO2) storage and pipeline transportation, no doubt a nod to the gas-to-energy project. Notably, the Ministry assured that more regulations will follow in the coming months to further boost the sector’s oversight. (G-3)

GCCI President Kester Hutson

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton

3rd man convicted of killing overseas-based Guyanese

Changes…

…in the Police ranks?

Sentencing is scheduled for next month for a Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD) man convicted of murder. Wayne Anthony Chester, called “Sharky”, 26, was found guilty of the capital offence on Thursday last by a jury in the murder of 40-yearold Purcell Moore, who was shot and killed during a robbery on December 20, 2017, at Craig, EBD.

Upon his arraignment before Justice Sandil Kissoon at the High Court in Demerara, Chester, who was represented by legal counsel, had pleaded not guilty to the charge.

In June 2021, two men— Selwin Dawson and Kevin Persaud—were each sentenced to life imprisonment by Justice Kissoon for the heinous crime.

Though initially indicted for murder, the duo, both 23, had opted to plead guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter. They must spend 15 years in jail before being considered for parole.

In sentencing the men, Justice Kissoon had remarked, “This callous crime and course of conduct displayed by [Persaud and Dawson] must be addressed. Members of society ought to be free to move about…whether in the precinct of the business community in downtown Georgetown, in their neighbourhood, or their homes…”

Considering this, he had noted that the sentence of the court must not only fit the dastardly act committed by the duo, but also serve as a deterrent to like-minded offenders.

Dawson has since filed an appeal against his sentence at the Court of Appeal of Guyana.

According to reports, Moore, who had returned to Guyana from French Guiana for the Christmas holidays, was returning to his parents’ home from a shop when he was confronted by armed men.

It was reported that an argument erupted between Moore and the suspects, which resulted in a scuffle, during which several rounds were discharged at Moore and the men fled the scene. During the ordeal, Moore was relieved of the gold chain he was wearing.

The injured man was pronounced dead at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, EBD. In May 2019, Chester was jailed for a series of offences, including robbery under arms.

He was given five years’ imprisonment on the robbery charge, three years for possession of an unlicenced firearm, three years for possession of unlicenced ammunition, another three years for discharging a loaded firearm, and six months for damage to property. The sentences will run concurrently which means he will only serve five years behind bars.

Particulars of the robbery charge had stated that on January 6, 2019, at Conciliation Drive, Tucville, Georgetown, while being in the company of another and being armed with an unlicensed gun, he robbed Bowen Cromwell of $512,600 in cash and jewellery. On the same date and at the same place, he also damaged car parts belonging to Cromwell and shot at him.

For over four years, your Eyewitness has been waiting for the revolution in our much-maligned (and rightfully so!) Police Force! The coalition Government had announced they’d be abandoning the entry qualification in place from God knows when – that GPF recruits must just have a “sound” Primary School education!! As usual, they did nothing about the “thought”, but the new PPP Govt obviously thought it was a good idea and last year the Police Brass suggested that 3 CSECs – or needed skillsets – were gonna be required. So how much better was that gonna be than a “sound” Primary School Education??

And what was a “sound” Primary School Education, anyway? Is it the cut-off mark from the NGSA to enter Queen’s College? Your Eyewitness doesn’t think so! But if a student got a decent NGSA mark, wouldn’t he/she enter a Secondary School – even the “B” ones? Guyanese always knew Policemen weren’t the brightest bulbs in the room – any room!! But we can now understand why that old joke about Policemen survived for so long. You know…the Policeman nabs the miscreant in the act on Vlissengen St but hauls him over to Church to charge him – since there was no way in Hell (or Earth!) he could spell “Vlissengen”!!

But, seriously, folks, your Eyewitness hopes the new entry requirements didn’t blow away in the wind. So, he wonders whether the 104 new Police Recruits who were inducted into the GPF last month do have their 3 CSECs! So in their eight months of “rigorous training, challenges, and studies” did the newbies do better than older cohorts who only had a “sound Primary School education”??

If this were so then there’s gonna be a Revolution all right!! We’ll get Policemen (and women) who’ll actually be able to have discussions with civilians they nab for –one suspected infraction or another – without resorting to profanities! Up to now, the poor cops without a CSEC English pass probably didn’t have the vocabulary to express themselves – and in frustration ejaculated a few scatological exclamations! Did you ever think the reason traffic police drag you to the station for just crossing an unbroken yellow line might be because they just can’t fill out the traffic ticket violation?

Now, before you think this CSEC suggestion was unrealistic…let’s appreciate the PPP’s push for raising the educational level for all Guyanese. Those 20,000 scholarship graduates from the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) will soon be looking for jobs. And why not the Police Force – but the pay would have to be competitive, wouldn’t it?? In New York prospects need at least 60 college credits to apply.

Your Eyewitness is really excited by this development. He’s obviously had too many unfortunate interactions with (uneducated) Police!

…with Bajans

Well, how times have changed!! Bajans are actually being polite to Guyanese – which isn’t a curse word to them any longer. At least not in front of our faces!! And this just shows you it’s money that makes the world go round! Forget all those fine-sounding platitudes about us all passing through the same sugar plantations and slavery making us into “one people”. Not so…as all of us who were subjected to the “Guyanese Bench” at Grantley Adams Airport know to our cost!

Anyhow, now that our oil revenues are flowing, it’s clear that the centre of gravity of the new Caribbean’s gonna be Guyana and Suriname and we should collaborate. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this. For sure, we’ll need all sorts of expertise to develop our new economies - and if they can be sourced from our Caricom neighbours – why not?

Trinidad and Barbados along with Guyana and Suriname can now form a SouthCarib Hub. There’s strength in numbers, no?

…in PNC

Your Eyewitness has been pointing out that something ain’t right with the PNC leadership situation. But their next Biennial Congress is scheduled for this coming December, right??

And being the “most democratic political party”, they’ll be holding leadership elections, innit??

Murdered: Purcell Moore Convicted killer Wayne Anthony Chester

Convicted killers Selwin Dawson and Kevin Persaud (left) [file photo]

Suriname-Guyana Bridge

Surinamese Public Works Minister to visit Guyana to

finalise designs,

tendering procedures

– as study on construction slated for completion this week

CEIG; China Overseas Engineering Group Co Ltd (COVEC) in association with China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co Ltd (CREEC), and China Railway First Group Co Ltd (CRFG); and China Railway Construction Caribbean Company Limited & China Railway Construction.

The study for the construction of the bridge linking Guyana to Suriname via the Corentyne River is slated to be completed this week.

This is according to Surinamese Public Works Minister, Dr Riad Nurmohamed, who indicated in the local media that he will be visiting Guyana, to discuss the designs, financial aspects, and legal framework between Suriname and Guyana in the context of the tendering procedure.

As such, he noted that several decisions will be made in the coming weeks regarding the construction of the bridge. Nurmohamed also disclosed that given the enhanced connectivity which will come out of this project, Suriname has placed it among its top priority.

The bridge will be built according to the DesignBuild-Finance-OperateMaintain model (DBFOM).

This means that whichever company is contracted to build the bridge will be responsible for its design, construction, financing, operation, and maintenance. It will also be constructed via a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

Attempts to contact Guyana’s Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, proved futile.

The bridge is one of the first agreements between President Irfaan Ali and Suriname’s President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, with both heads previously underscoring the critical role the bridge across the Corentyne River would play in advancing cooperation, creating more opportunities for development for both countries.

Last year, Minister Edghill was in Suriname to sign a ceremonial agreement between the two countries to kickstart plans for the massive project. The Surinamese Public Works

Minister has positioned that with this important infrastructure in place, both countries will benefit from a tremendous spinoff as it

(CHEC); State-owned China Road and Bridge Cooperation (CRBC); China Gezhouba Group Company

Limited in association with

Meanwhile, Ballast Nedam, a construction company that is based in The Netherlands, was the lone non-Chinese company that submitted a bid for the project. The high-span Corentyne River bridge will run approximately 3.1 kilometres, connecting Moleson Creek in Guyana to South

Drain in Suriname with a landing on Long Island in the Corentyne River, where a commercial hub and tourist destination will be established. That free zone will see major infrastructural development such as hotels, recreational parks, entertainment spots, tourist attractions, malls, and farmers’ markets.

Running from Moleson Creek to Long Island, the bridge will be a low-level structure, approximately one kilometre long; with a 2200-metre (2.2 km) road across Long Island and a high bridge, spanning 2100 metres (2.1 km) thereafter.

At the high end of the

bridge, which will facilitate marine traffic, it will cater for 40,000 to 45,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) capacity featuring a vertical (height) clearance of 43 metres and a horizonal (width) clearance of about 100 metres.

Meanwhile, upon completion, the bridge will not only link the two neighbouring countries but also open up access to greater economic opportunities beyond them into French Guyana, and through the road network being developed into Brazil, and eventually further into South America.

(Rupa Seenaraine)

opens South America.

President Ali had disclosed that the financial proposal for the new bridge across the Corentyne River would be out by the end of January, thus paving the way for the tendering process and then the construction stage.

Back in May of 2022, a US$2 million contract was signed in Paramaribo for several preliminary studies and research to be conducted on the Corentyne bridge by WSP Caribbean. The Expressions of Interest (EoIs) were also simultaneously launched. Six international companies –five Chinese firms and one Dutch company from The Netherlands – had submitted bids for the construction of the Corentyne River bridge. The bids were opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) in Georgetown back in August.

Among the bidders were China Harbour Engineering Company

A model of a high-rise bridge

A map depicting Long Island, one of the points where the Corentyne River Bridge will land

Suriname’s Public Works Minister, Dr Riad Nurmohamed, and Guyana’s Public Works Minister Juan Edghill planting the flags of the two countries at Long Island, Corentyne River, back in October 2020

UG Library receives prestigious Albertina Perez de Rosa Award

lence, creativity, and innovation in libraries in an attempt to stimulate growth and development and sharing of ideas and experiences in libraries.

Each year, the Dr Albertina Pérez de Rosa Award recognises and honours the excellent performance of collaboration in information institutions, communities of practice, or the unique efforts of local or regional information units. This recognition serves to record the quality of the efforts evidenced through the implementation of successful projects for the benefit of its clients in the Caribbean.

The University of Guyana Library was the recipient of the highly prestigious Albertina Pérez de Rosa Award at the just-concluded Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL) Conference held from June 5-9, 2023, in Kingston, Jamaica.

The award was presented by the ACURIL Puerto Rico Chapter in recognition of the excellent collaborative work between the libraries of the University of Guyana’s Turkeyen and Berbice Campuses, for piloting, implementing, and documenting the success story of the Koha Open Source Library Management System, which was used to automate the services and resources of the two libraries.

The three researchers who documented the Koha

ILS implementation at the University of Guyana were Gwyneth George, Dr Simone Bernard and Somattie Sayrange. The award was received by Sayrange on behalf of the University of Guyana Library, Turkeyen, and Tain Campuses.

The annual ACURIL Conference brings together some 300 librarians, information professionals and archivists each year from across the Caribbean and Latin America to examine and discuss the current challenges of libraries in the Caribbean and to discover and debate new trends and ideas in the information world that would help to counteract some of the issues faced by libraries in order to help them to reposition themselves to remain relevant in the new information age. It is also a forum for recognising excel-

Koha is an open source software (OSS) Library Management System (LMS). The University of Guyana Library embarked on the automation project in 2007 to automate its services and was the first to do so in the Englishspeaking Caribbean using the Koha Open Source software. Choosing a Library Management System suitable for the needs of the University of Guyana Library was a challenging task but enabled the library to deal with some of its limitations related to space, dissemination, and retrieval of information, and budgetary limitations among others, to facilitate the general improvement in the services offered to its patrons. In this venture, the library was ably supported by the University’s Department of Software Services under the lead-

ership of Director, Sekhar Moses Mallampati.

The Koha Integrated Library System was launched at the Berbice Campus Library in 2011 as a pilot project and at the

ceremony of the 52nd Conference on June 8, 2023, in Kingston, Jamaica, Guyana also received the mantle to host the 53rd ACURIL Conference in 2024. This event will be

a time when the country is experiencing rapid development in the field of information access through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

Turkeyen Campus Library in 2012. Students, staff, and general public can search for all the collections in UG’s Library using the ‘Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC)’ feature in Koha software -https://library.uog.edu.gy.

During the closing

held under the theme

“From Metadata to Big Data: Trends and Hidden Treasures in Libraries, Museums, and Archives of the Caribbean”.

It is to be noted that this is the first time the conference will be hosted in Guyana and it comes at

The University of Guyana will take the lead role and will collaborate with its local and regional counterparts to plan and execute the event at the highest international standards.

TURN TO PAGE 12

The Guyana contingent in attendance at ACURIL 2023 in Jamaica; (from left to right) Simmone LaRose, Donette Washington, Debra Lowe and Somattie Sayrange

Somattie Sayrange displaying the plaque received on behalf of the University of Guyana Library

MoH working on long-term drug rehab services – Dr Anthony …drug usage dominant among youths – PAHO Rep confirms

incarceration. This integration focuses on the welfare of the participants. It promotes public safety and reduces the burden on the State. The courts are geared to reduce recidivism, reduce substance abuse. The courts are also geared to increase the personal accountability of the participants and to restore the participants to productive law-abiding and taxpaying citizens.”

Guyana Drug Information Network of the Home Affairs Ministry (GUYDIN) Head, Kurt Richards spoke about the fact that drug trafficking also fuels additional criminal activities like human trafficking, firearms trafficking, money laundering, and financing terrorism.

The Health Ministry will be focusing on long-term rehabilitation services to cater to the prevalent drug usage in Guyana, which has impacted the lives of many persons both on the medical and psychosocial levels.

On Monday, International Day Against Illicit Trafficking and Drug Abuse was observed under the theme “People First: Stop Stigma and Discrimination, Strength and Prevention”.

In a time when companies are finding new and innovative products to make drugs attractive, the Ministry has shifted its focus on solutions to target these trends.

This is according to Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony, who outlined that if rehabilitation for addicts is offered at all primary healthcare facilities, it would make a significant difference in coverage. Moreover, it would be part and parcel of the services offered to the public.

He disclosed, “Our network of health centres, they’re pretty comprehensive health centres, and of course, we probably have over 350 across the country. So, if we’re able to provide these services, each one of these facilities, then basically you have very comprehensive services across.”

“One of the things that we have been talking about in the Ministry is to set up more long-term rehabilitation programmes and if it requires people to be institutionalised temporarily, then that is what we have to do…And so, over the next year or two, we will be working to set up such a programme within the Mental Health Programme because this is a prob-

lem that they have to confront.”

Dr Anthony highlighted that drugs have significant effects on the functionality of a person but they can also lead to other illnesses. For instance, intravenous drug usage can also result in HIV contractions among other illnesses.

“We’ve seen with the HIV that you have persons, were intravenous drug users, who contracted not just HIV because of sharing syringes, where they also ended up with things like hepatitis and a whole host of other infections. So, it’s a big problem,” he shared.

While working on education and behaviour modifications, he noted that there must be a change in communities through support from other agencies.

“In some communities, the community knows who are the dealers, but the community does not deserve to give up the dealers. We have to fix it because it’s the community’s responsibility to fix that. And we have to combine our efforts with law enforcement.”

The Minister further stated the need for a comprehensive approach to drug usage, which has already started with outreaches to schools, targeting children at a young age about the dangers of indulging in such substances. He also zeroed in on the need for more trained personnel in the field to tend to the growing number of addicts.

Policy direction

However, Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Representative, Dr Luis Codina recognised that there is higher usage of drugs among youths

around the world than any other generation. Due to the vast number of drugs now available, it presents a challenge for the health sector to offer treatment programmes.

“Young people have a higher level of use than past generations. What we say in the 60s and 70s, we thought that is the highest level of use of heavy drugs. No. Today, young people are using much more at this time. This is important data in terms of what is happening in the new generation,” the representative detailed.

According to Codina, two of the more lethal drugs are tobacco and alcohol. But while some countries are pushing with the ‘say no to drugs’ slogan which has shown some positive effects, others are legalising marijuana. He zeroed in on the need for policies that are effective in sensitising and preventing drug use.

“How to find a balance between these two positions. I think it’s very important to discuss this because it’s the key of policy for the countries. Not to say that the ‘say no to drugs’ didn’t work in all the countries but we need much more than this.”

Rehabilitation

In addition, Magistrate Rondell Weaver said the Judiciary of Guyana has recognised that substance use disorder has led to the development of risky behaviours that are having serious consequences and conflict with the rule of law.

Recognising the need for reintegration services, Guyana’s first Drug Treatment Court was opened in 2017. The Juvenile Drug Treatment

Courts were then introduced in 2022.

She pointed out, “This integration has facilitated the replacement of the conventional methods of

Richards divulged, “These crimes are responsible for the loss of life, the breakdown of family relationships, poverty,

the destruction of communities and citizen security, even instability within a country. New psychotropic substances, which are introduced through the multiple channels along which drugs travel, including the sale on the internet - the dark web. In addition, there are other products that are available to youths, such as gummies which the Customs AntiNarcotics has been having a lot of seizures of; marijuana cookies and cakes for sale.”

He noted that these substances pose a serious health risk since they are not prepared by a certified chef or chemist. GUYDIN functions as the hub for all entities dealing with the curtailing of drug use. They have created the National Drug Strategy Masterplan which is in use. (G-12)

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony addressing the gathering PAHO/WHO Representative, Dr Luis Codina during his presentation

More upgrades planned for education sector

Teachers’ living quarters are expected to be constructed at the Baitoon and Bashaizon Primary Schools in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) to alleviate the challenges educators face.

These projects represent a fraction of the Government’s comprehensive agenda to revolution-

Santa Rosa Secondary in Region One, and an information technology (IT) laboratory will be constructed at St Paul’s Primary School.

Further, the Government is looking to construct and furnish the Home Economics and Industrial Arts Building in St Cuthbert’s Mission,

Contractors meeting the eligibility criteria are welcome to submit their bids for the execution of these projects.

All bids must be delivered to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, Ministry of Finance Compound, Main and Urquhart Streets,

ise and expand the education sector.

As the Government continues to prioritise the expansion of education infrastructure, extension works are set to be conducted at Sebai Primary School in Region One, for students to be comfortably accommodated. A science laboratory will be constructed at

Region 10.

These infrastructural works will complement a variety of other initiatives that are being executed to expand the calibre of education delivery throughout Guyana.

The Administration is committed to providing a quality learning environment for all students regardless of geography.

Georgetown no later than 9 am on Tuesday, July 18.

Only recently, two secondary schools were commissioned by President Dr Irfaan Ali. The first was Good Hope Secondary School, which was constructed to the tune of US$5.15 million and then Abram Zuil Secondary School which cost $585 million.

UG Library receives prestigious...

Accepting the invitation to host the 2024 ACURIL Conference after receiving the unanimous endorsement from approximately three hundred and thirty (330) participants at the 2023 Conference, Mrs. Gwyneth George, University Librarian and member of the ACURIL Executive Council remarked: “This is a wonderful opportunity for Guyana to host this Conference in this auspicious moment of the development of this country. It

will offer an excellent platform and a unique opportunity for libraries across the spectrum of Guyana to meet with their colleagues to discuss the challenges and opportunities that confront libraries in the era of evolving metadata and big data.

“It is also a wonderful opportunity for the libraries to have important and significant discussions with the Government of Guyana about the continued importance of libraries in the strategic develop-

FROM PAGE 10

ment thrusts of the country and in subscribing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

Guyana’s acceptance of the mantle to host the Conference was also commended by the ACURIL incoming President, Mr. Erick Toussaint, who thanked the Local Organising Committee for Guyana for their participation at the Jamaica conference and their willingness and commitment to host ACURIL 2024.

Abram Zuil Secondary School

Good Hope Secondary School

25 young men graduate from ExxonMobil’s training programme

Atotal of 25 young men are now trained in electrical installation and other life skills. This was made possible through an ExxonMobil-funded programme.

The programme, which was organised by Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG), aimed to equip young men with the necessary skills and knowledge to become experts in electrical installation and exhibit positive behaviour in their personal and professional life.

The training programme lasted for six weeks during which the participants were taken through both theoretical and practical sessions. The participants were taught the basics of electrical installation, including electrical safety, wiring, and circuitry.

They were also introduced to the latest electrical installation technologies and practices. The programme also exposed them to essen-

tial skills that are commonly acquired among young men, those areas of focus were conflict resolution, engaging with law enforcement, basic entrepreneurship, job preparedness and communication, personal finance and budgeting, and goal setting and personal development.

These sessions were supported by representatives from the Small Business Bureau (SBB), Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED), Attorney-At-Law, Sase Gunraj; Consumer Affairs Commission; Ministry of Public Works' National Electrical Inspectorate; Andrew's Electrical; George Phillips Electrical; Sandiford and Associates; West Ruimveldt Wesleyan Church and the Special Miracle Ministries.

The participants completed the programme and received their certificates at a simple ceremony. The partic-

ipants expressed their gratitude to ExxonMobil for funding the programme, which they said has given them the opportunity to acquire valuable skills that will help them secure jobs in the electrical installation industry.

YCG also expressed their appreciation to ExxonMobil for their support in making the training programme a reality. They stated that the programme would not have been possible without ExxonMobil's funding and commitment to empowering young people with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed.

ExxonMobil has a long-standing commitment to supporting education and skills development in the communities where it operates. The company believes that investing in young people is key to building a sustainable future and creating opportunities for economic growth and development."

Caricom mourns passing of fmr Barbadian

PM Sir Lloyd

Erskine Sandiford

...Sir Lloyd made sterling contribution to Barbados, Caribbean – PM Mottley

life of this distinguished son of our Community and extend heartfelt condolences to his widow Lady Angelita Sandiford and other family members, the Government and people of Barbados, and all who mourn his loss. May his soul rest in peace.”

The Caribbean Community in a release to the media stated that it is deeply saddened at the passing of former Prime Minister of Barbados, Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford. He was 86.

“Sir Lloyd’s life was defined by selfless service to his country, as a statesman for over three decades, and diplomat. He was an esteemed educator, and is credited with having pioneered significant national

post-independence educational initiatives,” the release added.

Caricom further stated that his contributions as a Member of Caricom’s Conference of Heads of Government were characterised by passion and professionalism, and helped to advance the Community’s high aspirations for deeper integration set out in the Grande Anse Declaration and Work Programme for the Integration Movement.

“We give thanks for the

The former Prime Minister passed away on Monday at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He served as the fourth Prime Minister of Barbados from 1987 to 1994. In 2000, Sandiford was conferred with the highest honour in Barbados and was made a Knight of St Andrew (KA) of the Order of Barbados.

In tribute to the former Prime Minister, a period of National Mourning will be observed starting Monday, June 26, until June 28, 2023, and on the day of the State Funeral after consultation with the family.

In addition, all flags will be flown at half-mast until the interment.

The young men and officials at the graduation ceremony

Prime Minister Mottley Former Prime Minister of Barbados, Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford

APA, District Councils engage carbon credit scheme verifier

during the last crediting period particularly relating to the processes employed to arrive at the benefit-sharing agreement, the National Toshaos Council (NTC) resolution endorsing the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2023, and the overall consultation period led by the Government.

Additionally, Markham committed to follow-up meet-

ings, if necessary, with the APA and District Councils to ensure that all their questions are addressed.

The District Council representatives took the lead during the discussion and presented the Aster Global team with all the relevant information relating to the law, processes, and guidelines of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC).

The meeting was also used as an opportunity to elicit answers from Aster Global’s team about the work they do and how they ensure compliance with the TREE Standards. At the end of the meeting, there was a commitment to further collaboration and information sharing from all the parties present.

PPC hosts public open day in Berbice

The Amerindian People’s Association (APA) along with several District Councils last weekend met with carbon credits scheme verifier Aster Global as Guyana enters its second crediting phase, in order to ensure compliance with REDD+.

Entities who were represented during the engagement included the Moruca District Council (MDC), Upper Mazaruni District Council (UMDC), North Pakaraimas District Council (NPDC), and South Rupununi District Council (SRDC).

Aster Global has been contracted as the auditor of Guyana’s carbon credits scheme to ensure compliance with the Architecture

for REDD+ Transactions (ART) Secretariat’s TREES (The REDD+ Environmental Excellence) Standard.

Aster Global was represented by its Principal Scientist, Kevin Markham, and Remote Sensing Specialist, Sandesh Shrestha. ART’s Director of Policy, Franklin Paniagua, was also part of the team.

The APA delegation was led by Executive Director, Jean La Rose and included Vice President, Junisha Johnny; Secretary, David Wilson; Assistant Secretary, John Campbell; Treasurer, Earl Thomas, and others.

Markham told the meeting that Guyana is entering its second crediting phase (2021-2025) and his team was conducting site visits for

the verification of the credits and compliance with the TREES standards. He said the meeting with the APA stems from the comments submitted during the last crediting phase (2016-2020) and subsequent complaints to the ART Secretariat.

In his introduction, the lead auditor explained that his team met with communities in Regions One (Barima-Waini), Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), and Five (Mahaica-Berbice) along with Government and other stakeholders. He added that the team’s priorities were based on the useful comments submitted by the APA.

During the meeting, a series of questions were asked surrounding concerns raised

Caricom mourns passing of fmr...

Meanwhile, Prime Minister, Mia Mottley in a message stated, “Sir Lloyd, who has been known affectionately across the length

and breadth of Barbados as “Sandi” since the late 1960s, has had the distinction of maintaining a political career of more than

FROM PAGE 13

three decades without a single instance in which bad behavior or the use of the robust language and colourful metaphors so common to Caribbean politics has been attached to his name.”

She further stated that no review of Sir Lloyd’s sterling contribution to Barbados would be complete without tributes to his leadership of the Ministry of Education.

“His tenure as Minister of Education included the establishment of the Barbados Community College, an institution at which he not only subsequently taught, but which has changed the future of thousands of Barbadian young people for the better.”

“Sir Lloyd was also a genuine and dedicated regionalist and as Prime Minister, he took the decision to take Barbados deeper into the regional integration process by signing on to the Grand Anse Declaration, which eventually led to the establishment of the Single Market and Single Economy,” PM Motley added.

The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) on Friday hosted a Public Open Day at the New Amsterdam Recreational Park (opposite the RDC Building), Vryman’s Erven, New Amsterdam, Berbice, Region Six.

This event was held as part of the Commission’s ongoing public awareness campaign to apprise stakeholders of the rules and procedures of the public procurement system so that they may better navigate, comply and benefit therefrom.

The PPC is mandated by Article 212AA (1) (b) of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Cap 1:01 to “promote awareness of the rules, procedures and special requirements of the procurement process among suppliers, contractors, and public bodies.”

More than one hundred from several procuring entities, suppliers, and contractors from across Regions Five and Six seized the opportunity to educate themselves and be guided on various topics covered by the PPC, such as

the Public Procurement Commission – who they are and what they do; the public procurement process; tendering tips, and how to lodge a complaint. Among those present at the event were Commissioner Joel

Bhagwandin and PPC Chief Executive Officer Michael Singh, who interacted with members of the public.

The objective was to enrich participants with information to improve the public procurement system within their organisations.

Officials from SRDC, Aster Global, APA and the District Councils following the consultation

Members of the PPC addressing a citizen’s concerns

Armed robbers, hijackers each slapped with 9-year jail sentence

The Sparendaam Magistrates’ Courts on Monday found three men guilty of abduction and armed robbery in relation to a spate of armed robberies in Georgetown and on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).

Hamza Samuels, called “Bad Coolie”, a 23-year-old resident of D Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown; Rawle Franklin called “Rawle Dog”, 35, of Sparendaam Housing Scheme, ECD; and 19-year-old Emmanuel Hale, also of D Field Sophia, were all sentenced on Monday.

Police had stated that on August 18, 2022, at Ogle, ECD, while being in the company of others and armed with a gun, they robbed Madan Ramdeo of a cell phone and cash totalling $73,000; and on the same day at Red Road Sophia, they robbed Jenny Mingo of $293,000 in items.

Also, on the same day at Vryheid’s Lust, ECD, they robbed Joshua Singh of his Toyota Allion motor car valued at $1.7M, along with a cell phone and cash. They were also found guilty of abducting Singh during the robbery.

On each of the three counts of armed robbery, they were each sentenced to five years’ imprisonment but one year was deducted for the time they spent in pre-trial detention. Each of them was also handed a five-year prison term on the abduction charge.

The jail terms will run concurrently which means that their cumulative sentence is nine years.

The sentences were imposed by Magistrate Ruschelle Liverpool while Police Sergeant Visram Ramjattan prosecuted the

matters. They were initially charged with the crime in August 2022 and were remanded to prison after entering pleas of not guilty.

Samuels, Franklin, and Hale were among four bandits — two of whom were shot, and one of whom had died — who were nabbed by Police on August 18, 2022, during a dramatic chase that led to the rescue of a taxi driver whom they had abducted.

According to Police reports from the incident, ranks at the Brickdam Police Station Operations

Trio fined for theft of equipment parts from BK Quarries

Room had received a telephone call that a white Toyota Allion with several occupants had committed a robbery on Lamaha Street, Georgetown.

As a result, anti-crime patrols were alerted, and one of the patrols observed the motor car in question driving along the Agricola Access Road, Greater Georgetown. That anti-crime patrol attempted to intercept the vehicle as it reached the Two Brothers Gas Station in Eccles, EBD, but it sped away, resulting in the pa-

trol pursuing it.

The Police related that the car was travelling at a fast rate of speed when it suddenly made a turn onto Hunter Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, to head in the direction of Mandela Avenue. The driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, and it collided with the barriers and came to a stop on the corner of Hunter Street and Mandela Avenue.

Thereupon, four males exited the car and began to run away from the scene. It was reported that shots were fired by the men as they attempted to escape, and the Police responded by discharging rounds in the men’s direction.

A search was later conducted in the area, and Franklin was seen lying on the parapet bleeding from injuries he had sustained, while another accomplice, Andrew Newyear, was seen lying in a nearby yard with injuries as well. Newyear died a few days later.

A 9mm pistol with a magazine containing three live rounds of matching ammunition was found at the scene. Meanwhile, the cops also disclosed that

while at the scene, they heard sounds coming from the trunk of the car, and upon inspecting, found Joshua Singh.

The car used by the bandits had been hijacked from Singh, a driver attached to the Shamo Taxi Base at Vryheid’s Lust Railway Embankment, EBD.

Singh told investigators he was in the driver’s seat of his uncle’s car, PSS 2705, when he was approached by three men, one of whom pointed a gun at him and ordered him out of the car.

He said he complied, and the men ordered him to go into the trunk of the car, where they locked him in. The taxi driver recalled the vehicle driving for some time before he felt the car crashing into something, after which there were loud explosions, suspected to be gunshots.

After his arrest, Hale reportedly told the Police that he and the others had gone on a robbery spree in Georgetown and were reportedly heading on the East Bank of Demerara in search of more targets when they were intercepted by the Police.

Three men were each fined $50,000 after they admitted to stealing heavy-duty equipment parts from BK Quarries, Teperu, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

The men, Kurt Benfield of Prince William Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara (ECD); Quincy Davis of D’Urban Street, Georgetown; and Paul Persaud of Third Street, Mon Repos, ECD, were reportedly caught red-handed stealing the items.

When they appeared at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court, they opted to plead guilty to a simple larceny charge. They were each fined $50,000 with an alternative of six months’ imprisonment.

Guyana Times understands that the theft of the equipment parts had been going on for years. It only came to light recently when a security guard noticed the men acting suspiciously.

As such, the guard approached the men and questioned them during which one of them told him that they would fix him up early the next morning.

The guard then alerted his supervisor. But by the time the supervisor arrived, the men had disappeared; however, they had already been identified.

The men, when apprehended, led the security team to the waterfront where they had hidden the stolen items. Some of the stolen articles were found

hidden in a boat.

The items were estimated to cost about $200,000. They were detained and taken to the Bartica Police Station. While there, they reportedly confessed that they had been stealing from the company for years.

Meanwhile, senior officials at the quarry said that because of the wide expanse of the quarry, people were able to time the security patrols. They would go to the location where the equipment is and remove whatever part they needed.

According to reports, the men who were fined on conviction were allegedly drug users. It is believed that they would sell the stolen goods to buy marijuana.

From L-R: Emmanuel Hale, Hamza Samuels, and Rawle Franklin

Kurt Benfield Quincy Davis

Paul Persaud

| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Govt to enhance patient care for diabetics in Guyana

…as int’l body estimates 66,000 active cases

With over 66,000 persons estimated to be living with diabetes in Guyana, the Government is embarking on a series of initiatives aimed at improving the level of care offered to patients. This was revealed by Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony during a recent episode of “The Guyana Dialogue”.

According to the Minister the Government is steering away from traditional testing ways of diabetic testing. He noted that the HBA1C is a more reliable marker, and the Ministry is looking to have it introduced at the clinic level across the country.

“One of the challenges that we have is that we still use glucometers and we’ve been using the traditional methods to check whether or not somebody is diabetic. We feel that the HBA1C is a more reliable marker and so one of the things

with these new guidelines is that we’ll be benchmarking using HBA1C and we’ve bought a number of these machines that we’re putting in primary healthcare settings. Our objective is to make sure that every health centre would have one of these so when patients come in, we can do their HBA1C at the clinic level…to get a better understanding of what is happening with the patient,” the Minister highlighted.

“HBA1C will give you an estimate of what the sugar levels and blood levels would have been over the last three months versus when you come in and you check with one of these strips, that is just telling you what is going on with you at that moment. So, the HBA1C is much more reliable and that’s why we’re going to shift to using them,” he added.

Anthony also unveiled that the Ministry is cur-

rently following a protocol developed by the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) called HEARTS-D which, according to the PAHO website, is a module on the Diagnosis and Management of Type 2 Diabetes based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance on the diagnosis, classification, and treatment of diabetes.

“Now we decided that… for those persons who are diabetic, we want to offer them better care. So, one of the projects that we’re working on is to improve care for diabetics. So, once you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, we want to make sure that we can help you to control your blood sugar and bring it down to normal levels. And to do that we have been, across the public healthcare system, we have changed the medication that we’re offering at each of our clinics.

We’re following a protocol that is being developed by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) called Hearts-D, (D being diabetes). So that’s the protocol we’ve been using and we’re using medication that’s more effective for treating patients,” the Health Minister explained.

He noted too that in addition to this new system, the Ministry in collaboration with Mount Sinai has been working to develop new diabetes guidelines over the last two months.

“You would see us launch those guidelines in July and having completed the launch of the guidelines we’ll be training primary healthcare doctors in the use of the guidelines. So that would also happen in July. And then we’ll be rolling out a very comprehensive programme to get people on this type of treatment,” Anthony added.

Only last year, Dr

Anthony had revealed that the estimate was 60,000 persons – many of whom, he said, were unaware of their status. Of that figure, he disclosed that there are about 150 persons suffering specifically from type one diabetes. Type one diabetes, known as insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in

which the pancreas makes little or no insulin.

Insulin is a hormone the body uses to allow sugar or glucose to enter cells to produce energy. Reports indicate that Guyana has over 400 health facilities, each of which is equipped to make diagnoses and handle diabetic cases.

52% of English-speaking Caribbean remain food insecure – survey

Arecent food security and livelihoods survey conducted by the World Food Programme and the Caribbean Community (Caricom), in the Caribbean Region revealed that 3.7 million people, or 52 per cent of the population of the Englishspeaking Caribbean, remain food insecure.

This is a 10 per cent decrease when compared to an August 2022 survey, however, it underscored

growing financial hardship and challenges due to the rising cost of living in the aftermath of the pandemic.

According to the 2023 Caribbean Food Security and Livelihoods survey, carried out among Englishspeaking Caribbean countries, 98 per cent of respondents reported high food prices in the three months prior to the survey, the highest level reported since the first survey in 2020.

In a region that is high-

ly vulnerable to climate shocks, the survey revealed that 42 per cent of households were affected by climate-related hazards in the 12 months prior to the survey. These events continue to have a significant impact on climate-sensitive livelihood activities in the agriculture and fisheries sector.

"In this complex socio-economic environment that is vulnerable to climate change, the priori-

ty of Caricom and national Governments to make food accessible amidst these shocks is important. Collaboration across agriculture, social protection, education, and finance sectors, helps to improve livelihood opportunities and contributes to achieving affordable food for all," Representative, and Country Director WFP Caribbean Multi-Country Office, Regis Chapman

highlighted.

For persons who reported disruption to their livelihoods, 65 per cent cited the unaffordability of the necessary inputs as the main cause, with domestic workers and farmers most impacted. Salaried persons are managing slightly better, yet 40 per cent of respondents indicated job losses or salary reductions in the six months before the survey. Others have re-

sorted to alternative or secondary sources of income to meet food and other needs, according to the survey.

The cost of living has had a widespread impact on people’s ability to continue to meet food and other needs. Rising prices for animal feed, fertiliser, and fuel have also severely affected respondents engaging in farming and/or fishing.

“Food insecurity is having major effects on the socio-economic welfare of citizens throughout the Region, the solution however can only be accomplished through joint regional efforts in the planning and execution of comprehensive sustainable actionable solutions geared towards building resilience against climatic conditions and future market disruptions,” says David Prendergast, Director, Directorate of Single Market and External Trade Caricom.

The survey’s results are a reminder of the importance of the Region’s agenda to reduce imports by 25 per cent by 2025, which includes strengthening food systems in the Caribbean so that they are resilient and adaptive to shocks and building on measures to address the affordability, accessibility, and availability of livelihood inputs.

The survey was completed with the support of the Government of Canada, the European Union, and the United States Agency for International Development, Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance.

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony

Govt to construct 70 core homes for residents in Reg 4

The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) will be constructing 70 core homes for low-income families in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).

As such, the Housing and Water Ministry is inviting bids from eligible bidders to carry out the project which entails the construction of 20 x 20 feet two-bedroom concrete units.

The Core Homes Initiative falls under the $5.8 billion (US$28 million) Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme (AHUAP) funded by the Inter-American Bank (IDB). A total of 250 low-income families are

set to benefit from the programme. Each unit cost about $4 million and beneficiaries

are only required to contribute a sum of $100,000 towards the cost of the home. They also receive a five-year

termite treatment certificate and electrical certificate for the building valid for 10 years.

Last month, the Ministry handed over 13 homes to families in Sophia, Georgetown. In that community alone, some $191.6 million has been allocated for the construction of 80 core homes.

Several homes were also constructed and handed over in Westminster, Onderneeming, Lust-enRust, Recht Door-Zee, and Parfait Harmonie Phase Two, Region Three.

The project boundary spans from Georgetown to Grove on the East Bank Demerara, and Westminster,

Onderneeming, Lust-enEust, Recht door-Zee, and Parfaite Harmony Phase Two on the West Bank Demerara.

On the East Coast, it spans from Georgetown to La Bonne Intention (LBI) to Haslington.

Bidding for the projects will be conducted through the National Competitive Bidding procedures specified in the Inter-American Development Bank’s Policies for the Procurement of Works and Goods financed by the Inter-American Development Bank and is open to all eligible bidders.

A complete set of bidding documents will be provided on a flash drive which can

be purchased by interested bidders from the CH&PA’s cashier at 41 Brickdam and United Nations Place, Stabroek, West Bank Demerara for a non-refundable amount of $5000. Bidders are required to indicate an email in their application, while the method of payment is cash. Bids must be delivered to the Chairman, National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, Ministry of Finance (Northeastern Building), Main and Urquhart Streets, Kingston, on or before Wednesday, July 26, 2023. The delivery/construction period is 200 days per lot.

Dr Anthony lauds GPA for improved service delivery to Guyanese

The Guyana Pharmacists Association (GPA) hosted its 20th Annual Pharmacists Convention under the theme, “Pharmacist working collaboratively with the healthcare team to positively impact the lives of those we care for”.

The event was hosted at the Guyana Marriot Hotel on

Sunday during which Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony said the convention facilitates the discussion of important issues and the enhancement of pharmacy services.

"We have been making a lot of substantial investments in the health sector.

In the years ahead, you will see a total transformation in

the Guyana health sector," Minister Anthony stated.

He highlighted the improvement and construction projects of regional hospitals across the regions, which he said will include a 24-hour emergency service, with operating theatres and other essential resources to cater to the needs of patients.

Bids open for reconstruction of New Amsterdam Prison

Department located at Lot 6 Brickdam Stabroek, Georgetown. The bid document can be uplifted from the Ministry upon payment of a non-refundable fee of $3500.

"In addition, the outpatient department will be upgraded to provide more efficient services with the electronic health recording system. Our overall aim of upgrading these facilities is to improve the service care to patients in the area of pharmacy as well," Minister Anthony expressed. The Minister also dis-

closed that work is soon to commence at the Bartica Regional Hospital through a grant from the Government of India.

Moreover, Minister Anthony extended congratulatory remarks to the President and leaders of the Guyana Pharmacy Association for their commitment and willingness to im-

prove service delivery and pharmacy care in Guyana. Present at the convention were the President of the Guyana Pharmacy Association, Kalawattie Datt-Singh; Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Narine Singh; Chairman of the Guyana Medical Council, Dr Navindranauth Rambaran and other officials.

The New Amsterdam Prison will soon undergo significant construction works worth millions, as bids for the reconstruction of the facility have been opened by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

This forms part of the Government’s overall reform and modernisation programme for the Guyana Prison Service, which is targeting the transformation of the prison from a penal to a correctional institution.

With a total of $5.5 billion being earmarked for the

Guyana Prison Service this year, some $2.2 billion was budgeted to advance construction at the Mazaruni and Lusignan Prisons and to commence work for the reconstruction of the New Amsterdam Prison.

Additionally, the Home Affairs Ministry is inviting suitable contractors to build a Transitional Centre in Region Four.

Interested bidders can inspect the bidding document(s) and obtain further information from the Ministry’s Finance

Bids shall be addressed to the Chairman of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, Ministry of Finance, Main and Urquhart Streets, Georgetown.

It must be submitted no later than 09:00h on Thursday, July 20, 2023.

Bids will be opened at 09:00h on Thursday, July 20, 2023, in the presence of those bidders or their representatives who choose to attend the opening.

All bids must be accompanied by valid Certificates of Compliance from the Manager of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

One of the core homes recently constructed

The gathering at the convention on Sunday

Dr Anthony and other officials visited one of the booths

Regional Honduran armed forces take control of prisons to stamp out gangs

The Government of Honduras has announced a crackdown on organised crime within the Central American country’s prison system after an attack in a women’s penal centre left 46 people dead last week.

The Honduran Armed Forces said on Monday that their push “to regain control of the prisons” had begun, dubbing the initiative “Operation Faith and Hope”.

Searches were under way on Monday morning at the Tamara Penal Centre, where the armed forces said they had recovered high-calibre weapons, grenades, ammunition, cell phones and devices for Internet access within the prison walls.

The initial search appeared to focus on the men’s prison, though Tamara was also the site of last week’s deadly attack in the Centro Femenino de Adaptacion Social (CEFAS), a women’s detention centre that can house approximately 900 people.

“Operations will continue in other penal centres,” the armed forces said in

Suspected gang members are lined up after the Honduran government announced a prison crackdown called ‘Operation Faith and Hope’ [Honduras Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters]

Twitter posts on Monday.

The June 20 attack in Tamara, approximately 50 kilometres (30 miles) northwest of the capital, Tegucigalpa, marked one of the country’s deadliest prison riots in recent memory.

The violence broke out after women from the Barrio 18 street gang confronted their rivals in the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) group in the starkly divided prison, according to the authorities.

Officials have said the gang members were able to infiltrate a rival cell block

Ex-First Lady, anti-graft candidate poised for Guatemala run-off

Former First Lady Sandra Torres is set to face an August run-off in Guatemala’s presidential election against another centre-left candidate running on an anti-graft ticket who bucked forecasts to finish runner-up in a first round of voting on Sunday.

Central American country, is set for a decisive second round on August 20 because no candidate came close to winning the 50 per cent plus one vote needed for outright victory.

with guns, machetes and flammable liquids that they used to set their enemies on fire. Some even allegedly brought locks to shut their victims inside their cells as they burned alive.

Eighteen pistols, an assault rifle, two machine pistols and two grenades were reportedly recovered after the attack.

Yuri Mora, a spokesperson for Honduras’s national police, said that 26 of the victims had died in the flames, while the rest succumbed to gunshot and stab wounds. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Holness reassures supporters of progress amid difficult times

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Sunday sought to reassure supporters in South East Clarendon that despite the difficult times, his Administration is making progress.

Speaking at a constituency conference at the Vere Technical High School, Holness pointed to the unemployment figures and debt reduction as tangible signs of his Administration’s progress.

“Yes, there are difficulties, and yes, the time is

hard, but we are making progress. I want to point out something to you. So much conversation going on that sometimes if you listen to some of the things you believe nothing is happening. It is not the case. A lot is happening, a lot is happening in Jamaica,” Holness said.

“When we took over in 2016, anybody can tell me what the unemployment rate was? The unemployment rate was 13.7 per cent when we took over in March 2016. You know what the unemployment

rate is today? It is about 7 per cent. In effect, your government – you elected this government— cut the unemployment by almost 50 per cent” added Holness.

The Prime Minister went on to explain that while most thought of the unemployment rate as ‘just a figure’ the practical implications were that household incomes had increased and there is mow added pressure for more workers.

(Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Costa Rica unlocks US$519M from IMF for economic reform, climate programmes

Costa Rica has unlocked a total of around US$519 million for its economic reform programme and a climate and sustainability programme, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday.

Around US$274 million went to the economic reform programme, which is one instalment in the more

than US$1 billion Costa Rica has received from the IMF under the arrangement, the Fund said.

Another US$245 million goes to the resilience and sustainability arrangement.

The Central American country met its fiscal targets by large margins, Kenji Okamura, acting chair of the IMF board,

Preliminary results showed that with more than 98 per cent of returns from polling stations counted, Torres of the National Unity of Hope (UNE) had 15.8 per cent of the vote, and Bernardo Arevalo of Semilla, another left-ofcentre party, 11.8 per cent.

The election, which has been dominated by concern over corruption in the

Torres told a press conference on Sunday night she was feeling optimistic. “We’re happy,” she said. “We’re going to win, against whoever it may be.”

Arevalo, an ex-diplomat and son of former President Juan Jose Arevalo, was the surprise package of the vote, with opinion polls not forecasting he would make the run-off. Arevalo has made tackling corruption a key priority.

“We didn’t come to win the polls. We came to win

the elections,” Arevalo wrote on Twitter. His party’s previous presidential campaign was fronted by former Attorney General and anti-corruption stalwart Thelma Aldana, though she was ultimately barred from running in 2019 on the grounds of alleged financial impropriety.

Aldana said the allegations were politically motivated due to the historic campaign against graft she waged together with the United Nations-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).

Aldana later sought asylum in the United States.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Former Barbados Prime Minister Sir Lloyd passes

Former Prime Minister of Barbados, Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford has passed. He was 86 years old.

Sir Lloyd served as the fourth Prime Minister and led the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Administration from June 1, 1987 on the death of predecessor Errol Barrow, until he resigned on June 18, 1994.

He was born on March 24, 1937 and attended the Coleridge and Parry School and later Harrison College, where he won a Barbados Scholarship in 1956.

Sir Lloyd attended the University of the West Indies in Jamaica and graduated with a degree in English. He pursued post graduate studies in economics and government at Manchester University in England.

Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford

Sir Lloyd taught in Jamaica and Barbados before entering politics in 1966.

He was appointed a DLP Senator in 1967 and Minister of Education in 1968. He won a seat in the House of Assembly in 1971

as representative for St Michael South and became deputy prime minister in 1986.

Among Sir Lloyd’s accolades are the establishment of the Barbados Community College and the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, now the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology. His Government fell on June 7, 1994 when he lost a no-confidence motion 1214 after a long debate in the House of Assembly.

In the latter years, Sir Lloyd served as Barbados’ first resident ambassador to China from 2010 to 2013. He is survived by his widow, Dame Angelita Sandiford, and children Garth and Inga. Daughter Sheree-Ann predeceased him. (Nation News)

Argentina election line-up twist boosts markets, adds spice to IMF talks

said in a statement.

“While there is scope for further monetary easing in 2023, policies should remain attentive to risks to the inflation outlook,” he added.

The IMF pegged Costa Rica’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for this year at 3.0 per cent and at 3.2 per cent in 2024.

(Reuters)

Argentina’s election line-up twist, which saw the ruling Peronist coalition torpedo a leftist candidate in favour of a centrist economy minister, boosted local markets on Monday, though analysts said it added a new spice to talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Peronist bloc, Union por la Patria, said on Friday economy minister Sergio Massa would be the sole nomination for the ruling coalition, spiking the day-old candidacy of a close ally to populist

Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

With other frontrunners from the conservative opposition and the farright, the decision means Argentina’s next president, to be chosen in an October election, is likely to be more market-friendly, a salve for hard-hit investors in the indebted nation.

“The local market may view it favourably that the electoral scene now has presidential candidates who are moderate, pro-market and who know investors,” said Javier

Timerman of Adcap Grupo Financiero, cautioning that many still had their doubts.

On Monday sovereign bonds rose on average some four per cent on the news, while the S&P Merval index jumped in early trade.

Argentina’s sovereign bonds remain in distressed territory around 30-35 cents on the dollar after years of local and foreign debt restructurings and a new $44 billion deal with the IMF to replace a failed programme.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Around The World OIL NEWS Oil prices inch higher after political turmoil in Russia

Oil prices rose slightly in choppy trading on Monday, as investors balanced concerns about global demand growth against upcoming supply disruptions that could be exacerbated by political instability in Russia.

Brent crude futures rose 33 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at US$74.18 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures rose 21 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at US$69.37 a barrel.

A clash between Moscow and Russian mercenary group Wagner was averted on Saturday after the heavily armed mercenaries withdrew from the southern Russian city of Rostov under a deal that halted their rapid advance on the capital.

However, the challenge has raised questions about President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power and some concern about possible disruption of Russian oil supply.

“There’s not much geopolitical impact on the market now. It is dominated by economics, not geopolitics,” Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of S&P Global, said on the sidelines of an industry event on Monday.

Price Futures Group analyst Phil Flynn warned that Russian political instability could worsen supply shortages in the months ahead due to Saudi Arabia’s pledge to cut output from July, a risk of lower US production and an imminent end to US strategic reserve releases.

“The reality is (the Russian turmoil) is another risk against complacency in a market that has been counting on a future drop in demand to meet what will be a big drop in supply,” Flynn said.

In an early indicator of future US supply, the number of oil and natural gas rigs operated by US energy companies fell for an eighth week in a row for the first time since July 2020, a closely followed report showed on Friday.

“(Beyond Russia) focus otherwise is on Saudi as the kingdom implements its additional production cut for July - something we should see in lower exports - as well as the looming Independence Day weekend and its impact on demand,” Kpler analyst Matt Smith said.

Both Brent and WTI prices fell by about 3.6% last week on worries that further interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve could sap oil demand at a time when China’s economic recovery has also disappointed investors. (Reuters)

Ukraine says it retakes another village from Russian forces

Ukraine said on Monday its forces had taken back control of the devastated southeastern village of Rivnopil, the latest gain since it began a counteroffensive against Russian forces.

The village appeared to be the ninth recaptured by Ukraine this month though a military spokesperson said Rivnopil was deserted and heavily damaged.

“(Ukrainian) Defence forces have brought Rivnopil back under our control,” Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

She did not say when Ukrainian troops entered Rivnopil, which lies just west of a cluster of villages recaptured by Kyiv in offensive operations that Maliar said had liberated 130 square km (50

square miles) in the south.

A Ukrainian soldier said in an unverified 13-second video posted by Ukraine’s military that the village was retaken on Sunday. The video showed him and other sol-

diers in front of a devastated building with a Ukrainian flag flying from a post.

Using a derogatory term for Russian soldiers, he said: “The orcs are fleeing, we are moving ahead.”

Valeryi Shershen, spokesperson for the Tavria, or southern, military sector, told Ukrainian television there were no civilians in the village and that it had been almost totally destroyed. It had also been mined on all sides, he said.

Shershen said the Tavria group had advanced by 1.5 km, or almost a mile, in the direction of the city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, still holds swathes of territory in the east and south. It did not immediately comment on events in Rivnopil, and Reuters was unable to verify the situation on the battlefield. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Syria war: 9 killed as Russia air strike hits Idlib market

The UN has expressed deep concern about an escalation of hostilities in north-western Syria after at least 11 people were reportedly killed in Russian air strikes on rebel-held Idlib province.

Nine were killed when warplanes dropped bombs next to a market outside Jisr al-Shughour on Sunday, rescuers said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported that it was the deadliest Russian attack this year.

paign in support of the Syrian Government has been crucial in turning the tide of the 12year civil war in its favour.

But the Syrian Defence Ministry said its troops had co-operated with the Russian air force in an operation that targeted “terrorist headquarters and warehouses” in Idlib and “eliminated dozens of terrorists”.

The strikes were retaliation for attacks that had killed civilians in Government-held Hama and Latakia provinces, it added.

At

least

3 dead, dozens of homes damaged after storms hit US Midwest, South

Tornadoes and thunderstorms hit the US Midwest and South on Sunday, leaving dozens of homes damaged and at least three people dead in Indiana and Arkansas, authorities said on Monday.

The National Weather Service said multiple tornadoes and severe storms were reported on Sunday in central Indiana and Arkansas.

Emergency officials from Martin County, Indiana, confirmed one death in the area.

Emergency Management Director Cameron Wolf said the victim’s injured partner was airlifted to hospital. They lived in a two-storey log cabin, which was destroyed by the storms. Further details were not immediately available.

“Damage is random, it’s kind of widespread,” Wolf said in an interview to PBS. The damage mostly happened out in the country side, he said, adding

that towns were not hit that hard by the storms.

The Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that two people were killed after a tree fell on a home in Carlisle, Arkansas, due to severe storms on Sunday, a CBS News affiliate said.

Images and footage from local media showed fallen trees had blocked roads and homes were damaged.

A large hail storm was also reported in Indiana and adjacent states, officials said.

Fire Chief Eric Funkhouser from the town of Bargersville, south of Indianapolis, said that while no casualties were reported there, about 75 homes sustained moderate to severe damage after the weather, according an NBC News affiliate.

Emergency shelters were set up in central Indiana for those whose homes were damaged and destroyed. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Another two people were killed in an air strike near Idlib city, it said.

There was no immediate comment from the Russian military, whose air cam-

More than half a million people have been killed in the conflict that erupted after President Bashar al-Assad cracked down violently on peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2011.

Idlib is the last remaining opposition stronghold and is home to 2.9 million displaced people, many of whom are living in dire conditions in camps.

In March 2020, Russia

and Turkey brokered a ceasefire to halt a push by the government to retake Idlib. That led to an extended lull in violence, but sporadic clashes, air strikes and shelling continue.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Myanmar authorities burn

US$446M in illegal drugs

Myanmar authorities torched almost half a billion dollars of illegal drugs but warned they are failing to stop a surge in the production and trafficking of narcotics.

Head-high piles of heroin, cannabis, methamphetamines, and opium were burned on Monday in the commercial hub Yangon in an annual spectacle to mark International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

Televised torchings also took place elsewhere in the country with a total of US$446M of narcotics going up in smoke, according to military officials.

But in a rare admission, the head of Myanmar’s Central Committee for Drug

Abuse Control said its efforts to crush the multibillion-dollar trade were having no impact.

“Even though countless drug abusers, producers, traffickers and cartels were arrested and prosecuted, the production and trafficking of drugs have not declined at all,” Soe Htut told the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

The “Golden Triangle” border region of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand has long been a hotbed of illegal drug production and trafficking, particularly of meth and opium.

This includes Myanmar’s Shan state – Southeast Asia’s primary source of meth, according to the United Nations. It is home to a patchwork of ethnic rebel groups and mili-

tias aligned with the country’s army.

Analysts said the military, which ousted an elected Government and seized power in 2021, is not serious about ending the lucrative trade.

More than 23 tonnes of

crystal meth were seized in Myanmar in 2022, the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime said this month. Wholesale and street prices for meth across Southeast Asia were falling or at record lows, it said. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Ukrainian servicemen of the 47th Magura Separate Mechanised Brigade fire a BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system towards Russian troops near a front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, June 25, 2023

The White Helmets said most of those killed at the vegetable market were workers and farmers

A man harvests opium as he works in a field outside Loikaw, Kayah state, Myanmar [Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters]

DAILY HOROSCOPES

Make decisions based on facts, not on impulses. Gather information, listen, learn and prepare diligently to ensure your success. Finishing what you start is vital.

(March 21-April 19)

Keep your eye on your goal, but don’t neglect the small but essential details. A change of plans will disrupt your schedule unless you have a backup plan and expert assistance.

(April 20-May 20)

Don’t share too much information. Focus on stretching your money and using your connections and skills to increase your income. Romance and home improvements are favored.

(May 21-June 20)

PEANUTS

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

CALVIN AND HOBBES

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Express your thoughts and feelings, and finish what you start. Refuse to let outside influences stand between you and what you are trying to accomplish. Trust in yourself.

Stick close to home and protect what you have worked hard to build. Don’t make unnecessary changes or take on more than you can handle. Focus on personal gain.

If you work quietly behind closed doors, you’ll accomplish your objective without interference. Verify information before making a decision that can influence the outcome of your plan.

Rely on people you know and trust. Surround yourself with quality people who know how to keep a secret and finish things on time. Question anything that sounds far-fetched. Clear your head.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

Make changes for the right reason. Don’t follow anyone. Put together a strict budget. Stand tall, look your best and review the possibilities. Seek the help of a bona fide expert.

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

SOLUTION

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Before you trust someone else, consider what works best for you. A romantic gesture doesn’t have to be expensive. Keep a close eye on your bank account.

Speak from the heart. Pay attention to the changes around you, and protect your home and possessions. Aim to stabilize your life using innovative methods.

Don’t make empty promises. A chance to bring in more cash will depend on what you contribute physically. Change begins with you and what you have to offer. Voice your concerns.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

Have a good idea of how much money you can spend. Stick to your plan and refuse to let anyone tempt you to try something risky. A change at work will leave you livid.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

BVA Volleyball competition…

Port Mourant teams make a clean sweep

The Berbice Volleyball Association (BVA) successfully held a volleyball tournament consisting of three categories, which saw some 12 teams in contention.

The female category saw participation from three teams namely Hopetown Ninjas, Port Mourant Females, and Orealla Falcons. Port Mourant Females were victorious after defeating Orealla Falcons 25-18, 25-12 in a two-best inthree final, after a round robin with the three teams.

The One Guyana Academy competition saw GuySuCo Training Centre defeating Number 47 Challengers 2511, 25-23 in the final of a round robin, with the third team being Orealla Falcons, who were knocked out in the early stages of the round robin.

The senior male category saw six teams contend-

ing namely Castrol Strikers, PMTC, Berbice Under-19, Orealla Falcons Male, Rollers, and Guyana Defence Force (GDF). They were placed in two zones. PMTC defeated Castrol Strikers 21-12, 21-16 in the final, after a round robin was played in each zone and a knock-out semi-final.

First and second-place trophies were presented in each category. With first and second-place medals presented to the senior males, MVP trophies were presented to the following: Amesha Manisha Mohabir – Port Mourant Female; Orandi Welcome –One Guyana Academy, and Daniel Joseph – Male seniors.

The BVA thanked the GDF and Castrol Strikers teams for gracing the occasion and Region Six, and Trophy Stall for the prizes.

CG United Women’s ODI series…

All-round Matthews hands Windies Women 1st win

West Indies Women began their CG United One-Day International (ODI) Series against Ireland’s Women on a high note on Monday, defeating the visitors by 58 runs.

Led by Captain Hayley Matthews, the West Indian women put up on a formidable batting display to post 297-6 and later stifled the Irish, restricting them to 239-9.

At the Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium in St Lucia, debutant Zaida James went out to open the batting in front of her home crowd with Captain Matthews, but unfortunately did not last long, hitting 13 runs from 38 balls.

At the other end, Matthews was quite comfortable and went on to slam a century, 109 off 106 balls. Matthews’ innings included 10 fours and two sixes, before falling to Ava Canning’s bowling. The experienced Stafanie Taylor added to the commendable batting effort, hitting 55 runs from 69 deliveries, while Chinelle Henry had another half-century. Henry’s unbeaten 53 from 37 balls was the stability

West Indies needed at the back end of the innings as they were in reach of the 300 mark.

Cara Murray was the pick of the Irish bowlers, claiming 3-60 from 10 overs.

Canning, Arlene Kelly, and Sophie MacMahon all took one wicket apiece.

In the chase, the visitors had a similar start to the home team, with one opener returning to the dugout early, while the other dug deep to churn

out the runs. Leah Paul departed early for 10 from 29 balls, thanks to Matthews’ quick action in the field to spur a run-out. Meanwhile, Gabby Lewis went on to top score for Ireland’s Women, slamming 83 runs from 102 balls, including six boundaries.

Captain Laura Delany was the only other player close to a half-century for the visitors, adding 40 from 51 balls, while Orla Prendergast pitched in

SCOREBOARD

West Indies Women (50 ovs maximum)

Hayley Matthews (c)

c Lewis b Canning 109

Zaida James lbw b MacMahon 13

Stafanie Taylor c Canning

b Murray 55

Rashada Williams lbw

b Murray 3

Shemaine Campbelle †

c Delany b Murray 24

Chinelle Henry not out 53

Aaliyah Alleyne c

Murray b Kelly 15

Afy Fletcher not out 6

Extras (lb 2, nb 3, w 14) 19

TOTAL 50 Ov (RR: 5.94) 297/6

Did not bat: Qiana Joseph, Cherry-Ann Fraser, Shamilia Connell

Fall of wickets: 1-36 (Zaida

James, 9.4 ov), 2-192 (Stafanie

Taylor, 34.4 ov), 3-194

with 37 from 41 balls.

It was Captain Matthews to the rescue again as she bowled 3-53 from her 10 overs. Both Afy Fletcher and Qiana Joseph took two wickets to ensure West Indies would get the home series started on the right foot.

The next ODI in the three-match series is set for Wednesday June 28 at the same venue. The first ball is set to be bowled at 09:00h.

(Hayley Matthews, 35.2 ov), 4-198 (Rashada Williams, 36.1 ov), 5-240 (Shemaine

Campbelle, 42.4 ov), 6-285 (Aaliyah Alleyne, 48.3 ov)

BOWLING O-M-R-W

Orla Prendergast 6-0-42-0

Ava Canning 8-0-33-1

Arlene Kelly 10-1-45-1

Sophie MacMahon 5-0-30-1

Leah Paul 4-0-31-0

Laura Delany 6-0-37-0

Cara Murray 10-0-60-3

Eimear Richardson 1-0-17-0

Ireland Women (T: 298 runs from 50 ovs)

Leah Paul run out (Matthews) 10

Gaby Lewis c Joseph

b Matthews 83

Orla Prendergast c Taylor b Joseph 37

Laura Delany (c) c Zaida

James b Matthews 40

Amy Hunter c Fraser

b Fletcher 1

Eimear Richardson c †Campbelle b Fletcher 9

Mary Waldron † run out

(Zaida James/Joseph) 20

Arlene Kelly st †Campbelle

b Matthews 1

Sophie MacMahon c † Campbelle b Joseph 13

Ava Canning not out 6

Cara Murray not out 4

Extras (lb 4, w 11) 15

TOTAL 50 Ov (RR: 4.78) 239/9

Fall of wickets: 1-34 (Leah Paul, 9.3 ov), 2-101 (Orla Prendergast, 21.4 ov), 3-172 (Gaby Lewis, 35.3 ov), 4-173 (Amy Hunter, 36.2 ov), 5-187 (Eimear Richardson, 38.2 ov), 6-200 (Laura Delany, 41.1 ov), 7-202 (Arlene Kelly, 41.6 ov), 8-226 (Sophie MacMahon, 46.2 ov), 9-229 (Mary Waldron, 46.5 ov)

BOWLING O-M-R-W

Shamilia Connell 5-1-25-0

Aaliyah Alleyne 6-1-27-0

Cherry-Ann Fraser 5-0-18-0

Chinelle Henry 2-0-4-0

Hayley Matthews 10-0-53-3

Afy Fletcher 10-0-49-2

Qiana Joseph 10-0-53-2

Zaida James 2-0-6-0

A look at the winners’ circle after the competition

Captain Hayley Matthews showed game-winning effort with both bat and ball

Undefeated Saints take on Bishops’ in City final

The semi-final action in the Georgetown Conference of the ExxonMobil National Schools’ Basketball Festival commenced with a sensational showcasing of ball-handling abilities and future talent to represent Guyana on the international stage with jubilant supporters at the St Stanislaus Hardcourt Court

on Sunday. St Rose’s High start ed off the game against St Stanislaus College in high form with a two-point lead 9 -7. However, a timeout was requested after things took a turn and Saints kept their composure and came back to equalise the game at the end of the first period at 13-13.

Saints came back strong

28 victory to stay undefeat ed.

Brandon McCoy performed exceptionally well to secure 29 points with 3 rebounds and 3 steals, along with Lemuel Hyiger who swished the ball into the net for 7 points with 5 rebounds.

ing factor as Bishops’ gained 31 points while GTI fell short

Bishops’ High School

Guyana’s sole representative at the Barbados Senior Games 2023, Robert Singh won two bronzes in the sport of archery.

The 2023 Barbados National Senior Games Archery competition was held over the weekend at the World Archery Barbados (WAB) facility, Garfield Sobers Sports Complex, Wildey, St Michael, Barbados on Saturday, June 24, and Sunday, June 25, 2023.

Singh, representing Archery Guyana, competed in the recurve bow age category of 55-59 and in an impromptu intercountry competition.

The Barbados National Senior Games was first held in 2002. The concept of the games is to promote “Active Ageing”, and improved healthy lifestyles ultimately leading to an improved quality of life and longevity among the Barbadian pop-

ulation. The Archery competition encompassed three of the traditional archery bow styles with modifications in distances shot, and

30 arrows from 50 yards – five ends of 6 arrows

30 arrows from 40 yards

– five ends of 6 arrows

The maximum time per-

points with 4 rebounds.

The Bishops’ High School took on Government Technical Institute (GTI) in a tense showdown with the game, coming down to the final minute. Eventually, three points were the decid-

Captain Matthias Arrindell led from the front, swishing the ball into the net for 7 points with 10 rebounds, accompanied by his teammate Daniel Bailey, who scored 9 points with 9 rebounds. Martin Edwards had 7

for NYSCL supremacy

points with 10 rebounds followed by Peter Langevine with 7 points with 7 rebounds, but it was not enough to carry GTI over the finish line.

Saints will come against The Bishops’ High School in the City ExxonMobil's National School Basketball Festival final on Wednesday at Burnham Court at 17:00h.

was held in accordance with the current rules and regulations of World Archery (WA)

The competition was also attended by a Trinidadian team.

The competition format was the “900” American round, which was shot each day as follows:

30 arrows from 60 yards

– five ends of 6 arrows

mitted for an archer to shoot an end of six arrows is four minutes.

Singh as a matter of note had never competed at those distances previously.

His category results were:

Robert Singh (Guy) –

Bronze

Andre Gopee (TT) –

Silver

Kurt Meyer (TT) – Gold

Regal Masters and Regal Legends will partake in the 18th edition of the New York Softball Cricket League (NYSCL) annual Independence Cup with the full backing of the Muslim Youth Organisation of Guyana (MYO).

This support was very evident last Saturday when representatives of MYO joined forces with members of the Regal cricket teams to pull off a major fundraising venture for the cricketers heading to New York for the June 30 to July 2 tournament.

Led by MYO President Azad Ibrahim with support from Imran Ally of I and S Trading and Brother Fazal, the takeaway barbecue was an overwhelming success. More than 2000 tickets were sold and catered for thanks to the collaboration.

In an invited comment, Ibrahim said that both teams have quality players and he wished them nothing but success. “Knowing the abilities of the guys [on both teams], I am confident that they will bring home both of the trophies. So I wish them best of luck in everything they do,” he declared.

The management of the

Regal cricket teams also thanked the supporters who purchased tickets to ensure the trip to the Big Apple is a success. The profits garnered will help to offset some of the expenses such as flights, accommodation, meals and transportation for the 40-member contingent comprising players and officials.

Team owner and Managing Director of Regal Stationery and Computer Centre, Mahendra Hardyal was high in praise for the support from MYO, and was confident of lifting the trophies as well. “Those guys at MYO gave us tremendous assistance on Saturday. Without them we could not have done it. It was a true team effort,” Hardyal stated.

On his sides’ chances of success, the businessman simply said, “We have some high-profile players on both sides that are eager to do well.”

Regal Legends (over-50s) are the defending champions while Regal Masters (over-40s) are making their debut this year. Both teams are in good spirits and are set to represent the Golden Arrowhead and the One Guyana concept proudly as sporting ambassadors.

VACANCIES

The Bishops’ High School Basketball team

The undefeated St Stanislaus College team

MYO strongly supporting Regal

The winners’ circle

A look at the participants gearing up to take their aim

Van Beek's Super Over fireworks put Windies' World Cup hopes on the line

"Ican't really explain it,"

Player of the Match

Logan van Beek said. Netherlands, chasing 375 against West Indies, were deep in trouble with 205 required from the remaining 125 balls with only six wickets in hand. Who would have known they would end up getting 204 of them in a frenetic finish that would force the game into a Super Over?

And if you thought that was enough excitement for the day, van Beek bashed 4, 6, 4, 6, 6, 4 to smash the record for most runs in a oneover eliminator. In reply, West Indies lost two wickets for eight runs, and that was it. Netherlands took two vital points into the Super Six of the World Cup Qualifier, leaving West Indies with nothing to carry forward af-

ter being beaten by both Netherlands and Zimbabwe.

The two-time World Cup champions are now teetering, their hopes of making the World Cup proper hanging by a thread.

Before van Beek batted like a free spirit, it was Teja Nidamanuru and his captain, Scott Edwards who made that finish possible, adding 143 for the fifth wicket to give Netherlands hope from the most helpless of situations. That stand consumed only 90 deliveries. West Indies stormed back, though, taking 3 for 14 in a hurry to leave Netherlands needing 30 from the last two overs.

At the crease was none other than van Beek. The first three legal balls of the 49th over, bowled by Roston Chase, disappeared for 4, 6,

4. Nine needed off six balls. Four more from van Beek. But there was a twist. With one to get from the last ball, he swiped to mid-on, where Jason Holder tumbled to his right to grab the ball. It would be given out only after the third umpire made sure Alzarri Joseph had not overstepped.

Van Beek hit 28 at a strike rate of 200 during the run chase after Nidamanuru belted 111 off just 76 balls, with 11 fours and three sixes. Edwards, meanwhile, smashed 67 from 47. Not only did they find boundaries at will, they also made the West Indies fielders look ragged, converting ones into twos and twos into threes. Every run counted towards a remarkable Super Over win.

The game was set up by West Indies' centurion Nicholas Pooran. After half-centuries from Brandon King and Johnson Charles laid a solid foundation, Pooran added 108 with Shai Hope for the fourth wicket in less than 13 overs.

Pooran was on 7 off 17 balls at one stage. He then took Saqib Zulfiqar for a four and a six in the 35th over. In the 39th, he targeted the same bowler with a six and four again, before reaching his fifty in the 40th with another run of boundaries off Vivian Kingma.

West Indies added 118 in the last 10 overs. Pooran reached his second century of the World Cup Qualifier in the penultimate over, before Keemo Paul took

Boodie, McLean, Munroe win big at GBBFF Intermediates

There were muscles galore on show in Berbice on Friday as the Guyana Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (GBBFF) hosted their National Intermediate Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships.

The Berbice High School (BHS) was the place to be as Guyana’s up and coming bodybuilders showed off their figures for a chance at cash and prizes.

After what can be considered a series of disappointing outings in this year’s edition of the KFC Elite League, Linden’s Milerock FC managed to gain their first point in the league, following a draw with Buxton United FC on Saturday last. On the other hand, the second game in last Saturday’s double-header saw the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) FC school Victoria Kings FC 6-0.

At the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) National Training Centre (NTC), Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD), Buxton United took the lead first, by way of a Delton Peters goal in the 30th minute.

However, Milerock equalised through a Colwin Drakes strike in the 47th minute to bring the scores to 1-1 and that was the way it remained until the end of regulation time.

Milerock Coach Selwyn Isaacs spoke about the team’s rough patch and the confidence

boost that the draw will give them.

“Yeah, it’s good picking up a point, better than nothing. You know, we’re going through some rough times with the teams and so. We got some really difficult losses, but the players come out with good fighting spirit and good heart to come and show today what they’re capable of going forward,” Isaacs shared with Guyana Times Sport

“We go back to the drawing board from the last game that we lost and the game before and we see that we getting opportunity and we giving it away. So, we find we self down 1-0, but we didn’t give up, we continue fighting ‘til we get back the one and continue trying to see if we get the victory. Unfortunate that we get a draw and we feel comfortable with that.”

The Coach went on to add, “We’ll continue working hard and this draw going to motivate a lot of our players to come and

give hard work, each and every game.”

The second game of the night saw the Guyana Defence Force FC overcoming an initial challenge from Victoria Kings. The first 45 minutes went quietly as Victoria uncharacteristically stifled the soldiers; however, it was all guns blazing in the second half.

Ryan Hackett opened the scoring in the 50th minute, followed by a Delroy Fraser strike in the 72nd. In the 76th and 79th minutes, Kelsey Benjamin added a quick-fire brace while Fraser returned to complete his brace in the 82nd. Hackett added GDF’s sixth, the cherry on top, in the 90th.

The league will resume today, Tuesday, at the same venue where Santos FC will take on Ann’s Grove United FC from 19:00h. The next game will be a must-see, blockbuster clash between Western Tigers FC and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) FC, set to kick off at 21:00h.

When the dust settled, Vanisha Munroe of Space Gym topped her category while Errol Teekaram did the same in the Under 176lbs category. Teekaram was followed by Martin Leung of Unity Gym in second place.

In the Under 165lbs category, Delrea McLean of Mac Precise Fitness Gym took top honours, while Christopher Anthony copped second. Gym Palace’s Seon Budhan competed the podium in that category.

Meanwhile, the Under 154lbs division saw Daniel Latchman of Space Gym reigning supreme. Videsh Sookram of V Fitness and Space Gym’s Shane Wilson finished second and third in the category respectively.

In the Under 143lbs category, Yehoshua Boodie of V Fitness was the man to beat, while Omar Satar, under the tutelage of Coach Ravin, took second position.

Teja Nidamanuru smashed 111 off just 76 deliveries

Nicholas Pooran brought up his century off 63 balls

KFC Elite League… Milerock bag 1st point, GDF thump Victoria

GDF’s Kelsey Benjamin (11) netted a brace in their 6-0 win

Winners receive their prizes

The Intermediate Championships’ winners circle pose off with GBBFF President Keavon Bess

Super Over fireworks put Windies' World Cup hopes on the line

Britton reaches quarter-finals in men’s table tennis

Guyana’s Shemar Britton has extended his fine form, playing his way into the men’s singles quarter-finals at the ongoing 2023 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games. forts, he was unable to make it past his Cuban opponent in the final eight. Guerrier in the Round of 32 on Saturday, returned on Monday to one-up Abit Tejada of the Dominican Republic.

lasted five games, in which Tejada had the early ad vantage, winning the first match 8-11. However, the

Guyanese roared back, taking the next four matches 11-2, 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 to seal the victory.

The victory booked his passage to the quarter-finals, where he would meet a familiar foe in Livan Martinez of Cuba.

In that game, the Cuban took a win in the first two matches 12-10, 11-5. But the Guyanese bounced back to take the third match 8-11. The fourth match again went in the Cuban’s favour 11-8 and again Britton showed his fighting spirit by toppling his opponent in the next match 6-11. In a must- win sixth match for Britton, things did not go as hoped and Martinez secured the victory, winning the match 11-