Guyana Times - Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Local tourist feared drowned at Orinduik Falls

Timehri man arrested for breaking into private jet at CJIA

man who was part of a group of tourists visiting Orinduik Falls on Sunday is feared drowned after he went missing at the popular tourist destination.

AGuyanese

The man has been iden tified as Gladstone Haynes.

He had boarded an Air Services Limited plane from the Eugene F Correia International Airport to the Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) destination.

However, at the end of the tour, it was realised that one person was missing and

an alarm was raised. From all indications, the man went missing while swim ming in the water.

Up to press time, his body was not located.

When contacted, Captain Emil Jahan from ASL stated that after the report was re ceived, the relevant author ities were informed and a search and rescue/recovery operation was put into ef fect.

This was done in con junction with the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Guyana Police Force (GPF). He also added that the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) was also informed and would have launched an investigation.

Police have arrested a man from Circuit Road, Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD), who has since confessed to break ing into a private jet that was parked at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

The suspect has been identified as Albert Rajram, also known as “Bunny”, who remains in Police custody assisting with the investiga tions.

When contacted, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum confirmed that the suspect informed investigators that he dug a hole under the pe rimeter fence of the airport and made his way onto the

tarmac where he broke into the aircraft and stole several items which have since been recovered.

Among the recovered ar ticles are several bottles of high-end alcoholic beverag es and electronic gadgets.

This publication un derstands that investiga tors arrested the suspect at his home, where the sto len items were found. The private jet had landed in Guyana on Wednesday last and was parked close to the hangar of the Guyana

Defence Air Corps at the CJIA.

Reports are that when the pilots returned to the airport on Friday to pre pare their flight for takeoff, they discovered that the main door to the plane was breached.

After determining that the overall integrity of the aircraft was not compro mised, the plane departed Guyana for Texas.

Rajram is expected to be slapped with several charges.

Arrested: Albert Rajram also called “Bunny”

Some of the high-end beverages that were recovered

BRIDGE

US$1.4B in trade between Guyana & US recorded in 1st half of 2022

– US trade mission continues to explore local opportunities; GCCI executive optimistic

Trade between Guyana and the United States of America (USA) reached US$1.4 billion in the first half of the year and expectations are high follow ing the visit of a multimil lion-dollar US trade mission to Guyana.

In a statement, the US Embassy announced that they hosted an American trade mission consisting of five firms worth a com bined US$205 million in revenue. The firms, part of a Department of Commerce delegation, were hosted from October 25 to 28.

“The firms were part of a larger trade conference that took place in Miami and brought together near ly 200 firms who were in terested in the Caribbean market. Select firms trav elled to Guyana and other Caribbean nations during the week.”

“US businesses partici pated in meetings with lo cal firms throughout the Caribbean’s key sectors such as energy, infrastructure and agriculture,” the US Embassy further explained in their statement.

Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Executive Director, Richard Rambarran repre sented his organisation in the mission’s meeting with the private sector. In an in terview with this publica tion, he explained some of the issues that were ad dressed during the meet ing and also expressed opti mism about the outcomes.

“It was based on the com panies that came. We had a seminar, where at the sem inar, areas of investment were discussed. We high lighted the growth, the po tential in specific areas for growth, the projection of the Guyanese economy and pre sented general opportunities and answered specific ques tions subsequently based on their sector of interest.”

“So, they were interest ed in improving standards and quality, through certi fication and training. They were also interested in the energy sector. The quality and the standards the com panies have and they bring to the Guyanese market, bode well for the private sec tor. Particularly through joint ventures and partner ships and them bringing their experience to Guyana,” Rambarran said.

In September, US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch urged businesses to capitalise on the interest several states in the United States have in Guyanese products.

Speaking at a forum themed “Exporting to the US”, the diplomat had been optimis tic that bilateral trade be tween the two countries will grow as Guyana’s economy expands.

“We at the embassy have a small but strong econom ic and commercial team and we are always happy to offer market insights and advice, to all of you. We have en trepreneurial booths; we do training from time to time.”

“Also, we continue to col laborate with the Guyanese

and American private sec tors, offering extensive en trepreneurship training and mentorship, as well as con necting folks to potential partners. The US has many states that would be inter ested in Guyanese products. So please consider logistical support, alongside the state which you intend to be your first market.”

She had also encouraged Guyanese businesses inter ested in trading with the US, to participate in trade missions. This, Ambassador

Lynch had noted, will ex pose them to industry lead ers and allow them to foster partnerships.

Guyana is meanwhile ex pected to be the home of the first World Trade Center (WTC) in the Caribbean Community (Caricom). This was announced back in April of this year, following sever al months of negotiations be tween Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) and the New York-headquartered World Trade Center Association (WTCA).

US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch and Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine are flanked by representatives of the firms that participated in the trade mission

Editor: Tusika Martin

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Tourism Month

November

is dedicated Tourism Awareness Month in Guyana. This year’s theme is: “All Sectors, One Tourism”, and as expected, there have been, and will continue to be, several activities, including the Restaurant Week, industry training, and tourism sector awards, among others, to spread more awareness and market the country as a unique tourism package for both Guyanese and foreign nationals.

There is no doubt that the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has had an effect on Guyana’s tourism sector. The Government has acknowledged these challenges, and has put a number of measures in place to revive the sector.

In many countries across the world, the pandemic’s impact on tourism has been the same, or even worse. The United Nations’ World Tourism Organisation estimates that world tourism declined by 65 per cent in the first half of 2020, resulting in the loss of more than 850 million jobs and as much as US$1.2 trillion in earnings.

As pointed out by President Dr Irfaan Ali, in Guyana’s case, the tourism sector is believed to have suffered an estimated decline of 46 per cent of its revenues from the COVID-19 pandemic for the first half of 2020.

Since taking office, the new Tourism Minister has laid out her vision for the sector, and the policy interventions are being made while addressing the challenges confronting the sector.

We have noted that efforts were made to encourage locals to take advantage of the opportunities to experience what is on offer here.

This was a good way to start reviving the sector. In any case, for Guyana to be successfully marketed abroad, there is need for the country to be promoted locally in a more aggressive manner.

It is no secret that quite a lot of Guyanese choose to go abroad for vacation, as against enjoying what obtains locally, and this may be so for various reasons, including cost, standard of services locally, etc. For this reason, much more needs to be done by local stakeholders, so that citizens would begin to understand and appreciate more of what Guyana has to offer, so that they in turn can become “ambassadors of tourism”.

Our tourism potential is huge; the challenge is for stakeholders, including Government and Private Sector, to pool their talents and resources and create more packages that would be affordable and attractive to both Guyanese and foreigners.

Guyana’s tourism industry is considered to be one of the most attractive and unique destinations in the world. Unlike our Caribbean counterparts – typical sun, sand and sea tourism – Guyana has a different type of tourism product with our irresistible combination of fascinating and breath-taking natural beauty, pristine Amazonian rainforests, immense waterfalls, amazing wildlife, a vibrant Indigenous culture, and a rich cultural heritage.

Certainly, there is still much more work to be done, as there are some impediments that pose a threat to the development of a thriving tourism sector. Issues such as expensive air travel, lack of trained personnel in the tourism and other related sectors, etc, continue to pose challenges. These are issues that must remain on the front burner to be addressed, as they have a direct impact on the quality and affordability of the tourism package we offer.

With Guyana now being an oil-producing nation, more persons, both Guyanese in the Diaspora and foreign citizens, will be coming here either to work, visit, or for academic purposes. The focus should be on putting in place systems aimed at projecting a positive image of our country.

To begin with, there is need for citizens to start cleaning up their surroundings, especially those living in the capital city, towns and major centres where tourists traverse. The capital city is a main centre of attraction for visitors, and on any regular day, a walk around the city streets and surrounding areas would leave one ‘sick’ of the huge pile-up of garbage and other refuse at certain points.

A thriving tourism sector would benefit all Guyanese, as more persons would be able to secure employment, our country’s revenues would be boosted, and many other related industries would prosper, among other benefits.

The 1000 men initiative

Dear Editor, Guyana’s President, Dr Irfaan Ali, has provided co pious rhetoric about what is the 1000 men initiative but it needs to be fleshed out so that the suggestions can be implemented.

We are told that this movement will “reposi tion the role of the male population in society”; address the high school dropout rate among boys; enable men and boys to adopt a more responsible and healthier lifestyle to avoid ‘preventable deaths’; reverse the high suicide death rate among men;

work to make Guyana “a global example in coming together to end injustices to women”; tackle violence against children and so much more.

But exactly how will 1000 men reduce suicide among men, given that the collective resources of the nation and all its activ ists, advocates and profes sionals, along with all the plans and programmes in place, have not been able to do so?

Ditto for domestic vi olence, especially given that Guyana has no bat terers’ programme in place

and no policy, plans and programmes focusing on men in this respect?

What exactly will these 1000 men do that the en tire education system and the Ministry of Education have not been able to do to reduce high school dropout rates among males? Ditto for child abuse, healthier lifestyles for men and boys and whatever else.

We fervently look for ward to learning about the mechanisms, approaches, systems, processes, pro cedures, yardsticks, eval uative procedures et al of this revolutionary initia

tive. In fact, we believe that activists, advocates, NGOs, CBOs, FBOs would be thrilled to lend their support once the specifici ties of the how are fleshed out.

Please, Hon President, infuse us all with hope, en thusiasm, and confidence, especially those of us who are dedicating our lives, skills, efforts, and resourc es to make small, incre mental changes that seem to take place in a spiral rather than a straight line.

Best regards, Annan Boodram

Small loggers, forest sector operators welcome $900M revolving fund

Dear Editor, We the small loggers of Kwakwani, Ituni, and the Upper Berbice River are elated at the recent announcement by His Excellency, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali for the opera tionalisation of a $900 mil lion revolving fund solely for investment within the forestry sector.

All forest sector stake holders welcome this an nouncement and it is anticipated that this much-needed injection of finance will act as a cata lyst to aid the recovery of the forest sector through investments to facilitate value-added production, increased allowable ex traction, and recovery rate.

This will be done to meet increasing local and re gional market demands. Further, funding for the sector will support small loggers and sawmillers to invest in improved ma chinery and equipment to increase recovery and the quality of finished forest products.

Editor, it is important for us to remind our read ers that the forest sector began a downward spiral in 2016 which had a signif icant impact on rural small loggers and their families. Many smaller loggers with in Region 10 were forced out of the sector, loss of employment and markets, which led to a spiral of neg ative impacts in vulnerable

communities.

However, the results of the recovery of the sec tor began to bear fruit in 2021 when the impacts of improved systems and management of the for est sector under the cur rent Government were im plemented. These included the allocation of conces sions mostly to small log gers, removal of taxes on hinterland travel, removal of VAT on machinery and equipment, reduction of taxes on pick-ups, removal of taxes on fuel etc.

Furthermore, this re volving fund will now add to the many incentives and support extended to the sector which is much-need ed to satisfy the demands

for all types of forest pro duce, particularly in the construction, housing, and infrastructure drive of the current Government to propel growth and develop ment.

Once again, on behalf of all the loggers, not just those in Region 10, but also all that are part of the logging sector country wide, we would like to echo our appreciation to the President and Government of Guyana for conceiving and operationalising the $900 million fund exces sively for the forest sector. Thank you, Mr President. God bless.

Sincerely, C DeBarros

This Team Mohamed’s photo captured Rockstone Landing where the popular fish festival is normally held as one of the village’s tourist attractions

A comprehensive plan needs to be put in place for the crop and animal farmers in Berbice

Dear Editor, Crop and animal farm ing are the two lifeblood industries in Berbice. These two, for eons, have coexisted in harmoni ous unity, however, in re cent times that existence has been strained as the standing crop farms are invaded by the roving an imals and this is not going down well for everybody.

When the two husband ry types have to compete for the same geographical space, there is bound to be trouble.

In this regard, the live stock farmers have to seek alternative grazing grounds far away from the

crop farms.

Now, here is where the real problem steps in as the farmers of larger herds of cattle and ruminants, are faced with the task of put ting their animals out to grazing grounds that are far away from their homes and not being attended to.

When the animals are be reft of the watchful eyes of the owners, the problem of animal rustling sets in. As a Berbician myself, I am well acquainted with this situation.

Recently we heard of farmers losing their live lihood to cattle rustling, and this does not au gur well for the industry. Something has to be done

urgently to bring this situ ation under control.

There are a few op tions available and the Government has to play a leading role in putting things in place. Firstly, there can be a putting in place of communal graz ing grounds in the back lands with the animals being attended to by rang ers. These rangers are to be paid workers, either by the RDC or from a fee col lected from the farmers themselves.

Secondly, farmers can adopt a zero-grazing pro gramme, where feed or forage is cut and brought to the animals. This is eco nomical for the smaller

animals like ruminants, however, for the larger an imals that consume more food, a rotational pro gramme is more applica ble.

With a rotational graz ing programme, certain expensive infrastructur al works have to be put in place such as fenc ing the pasture as well as the planting of nutri tious grasses. The stock ing rate and other factors have to be taken into con sideration, which leads me back to the original plan of grazing in the open savan nah, with paid rangers to attend to the animals.

Despite the oil boom, farming still remains the

leading industry in Berbice and the solving of the nag ging problems plaguing the industry must be tack led immediately in or der for the industry to be saved. A careful and com

prehensive plan needs to be put in place so that all the farmers can be com fortable working with it.

Respectfully, Neil Adams

Community grounds

Dear Editor,

Guyana’s gold

has been said

the recent gold find and its value is twice that of our national debt.

is being overlooked is the low percentage that Guyana receives from its sale. Also, we have an op portunity to treat this find and subsequent ones as a natural Fort Knox. The Obama Administration did make a previous offer when the price of gold on

the world market was a fraction of what it is today.

The current econom ic climate has made the price of gold rise, making the Obama arrangement a much better option than it was before. We preserve the environment while ob taining the economic ben efit of the discovery at a much higher percentage than if we were to sell it through the current ar rangement. A discovery of

this size allows the nation to use it as the reserve that strengthens our cur rency.

Giving us the buying power needed to be suc cessful during this growth period without the bur den of additional debt.

His Excellency President Ali and the Ministry of Finance should relook at the US arrangement and its merits. It is a great op portunity that can lead to

a stronger vision and path toward a sustainable fu ture for our nation.

His Excellency President Ali and his Administration would be able to continue to accom plish the goals of their manifesto without sacrific ing the beautiful environ ment which all Guyanese enjoy today.

Best regards, Jamil Changlee

Athletes’ revelations

Dear Editor, Nicolette Fernandes, probably the most successful individual athlete who has represented Guyana with in recent years, and Keevin Allicock, one of our more suc cessful boxers, have publicly pointed out that our sports teams and individual ath letes representing Guyana at international competitions are seldom given the support by their respective sporting associations, including the Olympic Association, and, yes, the Government, which they deserve and which they must have for success.

Fernandes described a health emergency situa tion which arose when our athletes were represent ing Guyana at the South American Games when the team was not accompanied by either a doctor or a qual ified physio and was depen dent on assistance from the doctor of another competing team.

What Nicolette Fernandes described, unfor tunately, has not been the exception, but rather the rule across the board. The excuse has always been, and with some justification, that there is insufficient money to finance this kind of support.

I speak from experience. I had the honour of serving

as President of the Guyana Rugby Football Union from 2001 – 2006 and, then again, from 2010 – 2012. Rugby is not one of Guyana’s ma jor sports, but, during those years, we produced Rugby Sevens Teams, both men and women, who were cham pions of the Caribbean and Central America and rep resented Guyana at the Commonwealth Games.

We too struggled for fi nancing, but, yet, managed with the Olympic Association and Government help to travel with the profession al support that a team must have. Every one of our play ers was medically examined and certified fit to compete by a doctor at home before travelling. We travelled with a qualified physio/coach. Our teams were insured to cover any health emergency. Our players had to meet the re quired international fitness standards to qualify for se lection. Sadly, the Rugby Union cannot make that claim today, nor can many of our sporting associations.

It was good, therefore, to see President Ali posi tively respond to Nicolette and Keevin’s public reve lations and I congratulate them for speaking out. In contrast, the response from the President of the Guyana

Boxing Association, Steve Ninvalle, and of the Olympic Association, Juman Yassin, was negative, defensive, typical, and unacceptable.

Ninvalle also heads the National Sports Commission and is in a conflict of interest by re maining head of the Boxing Association. Juman Yassin has been President of the Olympic Association for some 26 years, much, much, too long. No one should head a sporting association or club for more than, at most, 5 years.

Jamaica has produced some of the best athletes in the world and have shown the way. Other Caribbean countries have done well too.

At the last Commonwealth Games, Guyana could not manage a medal and we were not even represented at Rugby, nor for that mat ter, any team sport. There is no excuse for this.

President Ali is report ed as having asked the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport to engage all of our sporting associations on these matters and has said “we can’t ask our athletes to give us their best and to perform at an optimal level when we don’t support them to do so”. He is so right. Let’s look forward to that happening from now on.

Yours sincerely, Kit Nascimento

There is widespread concern and disappoint ment among the people of Berbice with regard to the use of community grounds in the ancient coun ty. As is well known, the Government has pumped hundreds of millions of dol lars into these grounds so that the people can have facilities for recreation and sports, but lo and be hold, most of these grounds are abandoned, taken over by vegetation, or not being used for any activity what soever.

What a shame. Investigations have re vealed that in most of these grounds, the committees formed to run the affairs of the grounds are not func tioning, hence this debacle.

I would therefore like to recommend to the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture that the Organising Committees of every ground must submit a report at the end of the

year documenting all the activities that took place during the year and plans for the new year. Failure to do so will result in funding not being provided by the Government.

And this report must be verified by at least three people of standing with in the community. Also, grounds that have no func tioning committees, the Minister should move to in stall new ones.

Finally, the teams that play second-division crick et in Berbice are complain ing bitterly that the year is fast coming to an end and no second-division crick et competition has been organised by the Berbice Cricket Board for the year so far, which is also con tributing to the situation with regards to the commu nity grounds.

Hoping to hear from the Minister soon.

Yours faithfully, Imtiaz Baccus

FROM MONDAY

By The BroThers Grimm

Guyana completes 2nd AML/CFT risk assessment report; to finish updated policy by Nov 30

Guyana has complet ed its second AntiMoney Laundering/ Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) National Risk Assessment Report (NRA), with the Government intending to implement one of its major recommendations, an updat ed policy, by this month end.

This was communicat ed by Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, in a state ment from his chambers.

According to the AG, who chairs the AML National Coordination Committee, the NRA was conducted by a working group of over 70 persons drawn from more than 40 public and private sector agencies in Guyana.

Additionally, the World Bank provided guidance and support to the working group throughout the pro cess. He also noted that the report contains over 100 rec ommendations for how to strengthen the AML/CFT framework locally. The re port has already been shared

with stakeholder agencies so that work can begin on im plementing the action plan.

“In conducting the exer cise, the working group as sessed and identified the country’s ML/TF threats and vulnerabilities. This included the identification of weaknesses and gaps in Guyana’s ability to effec tively deal with the exist ing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing vulner abilities and threats.”

“The working group ex amined the money laun dering vulnerabilities faced by twenty (20) sectors that are considered as possess ing higher than normal risk for Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing local ly,” the AG said in the state ment.

These sectors include banks, insurance companies and brokers, money trans fer agencies, Cambios, se curities businesses, attor neys-at-law, accountants, notaries, trust or company service providers, house/real

estate agents, used car/ parts dealers, registered charities, dealers in precious metals (gold dealers), dealers in precious and semi-precious stones (diamond dealers), credit unions, cooperatives, betting shops, casinos, lot teries, and pawnbrokers.

“Some of the recom mendations put forward by

the working group to ad dress the existing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing threats and vul nerabilities identified in clude (i) the development of an updated formal National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Policy and Strategy.”

According to the AG, this policy has already been

drafted and they hope to have it finalised with some technical support and guid ance from the World Bank, by November 30, 2022.

Meanwhile, additional amendments to the AML/ CFT Act and other legisla tions were also recommend ed.

“Some of these pro posed amendments have al ready been drafted/passed (AML/CFT Amendment Act passed and signed off by the President, HE Hon Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, on August 11, 2022.”

Also recommended was “outreach activities to the relevant authorities; these have been ongoing and will be intensified; and (iv) out reach and training pro grammes to the private sec tor to be prioritised - this has already been initiated.”

Nandlall went on to em phasise that these are just a few of the ongoing measures by the relevant agencies in response to the recom mendations by the working

group. He made it clear that the Government would con tinue to prioritise the coun try’s efforts to combat finan cial crimes including money laundering and terrorism fi nancing.

These efforts, he noted, are also being implement ed to ensure Guyana’s read iness as the country pre pares for its Fourth Round Mutual Evaluation by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), which is scheduled for the third quarter of 2023.

“The mutual evalua tion process has already commenced with a PreAssessment Training fa cilitated by the CFATF for both public and private sec tor AML/CFT stakeholders on October 12-14, 2022. The aim of the training is to en sure that these key stake holders understand their AML/CFT roles and respon sibilities and are equipped and prepared for Guyana’s Assessment,” the AG said in the statement.

Muneshwers Ltd, IDB ink loan agreement for US$4M mobile crane

Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh on Monday oversaw the signing of a historic US$4 million loan agreement be tween the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)Invest and Muneshwers Limited for the procure ment of a mobile crane by Muneshwers with the aim of modernising its wharf at Water Street, Georgetown.

It is the most recent agreement signed in rela tion to that financial insti tution’s assistance and sup port for a private sector investment project, and the first mobile crane in Guyana to be deployed in the ship ping industry.

During the signing ceremony, Dr Singh ex pressed his appreciation to the Caribbean Country Department (CCB) as well as to the Chief Executive Officer of IDB-Invest, James Scriven for the work done

in order for Guyana to have reached this point in terms of partnership with the IDB.

The Minister also thanked the private sector in Guyana including the team at Muneshwers Limited led by Robin Muneshwer whose perseverance played a great

part in the project’s fruition.

“I think it goes with out saying that this is an incredibly exciting time in Guyana’s economic histo ry. The country is undergo ing unprecedented economic growth. We are going to be growing by more than 25 per

cent over the medium term, easily by more than 25 per cent in the next three to four

years. This has catalysed the remarkable expansion in the non-oil economy,” Dr Singh explained.

He added that Government wants to use this period in Guyana to build out as quickly as pos sible “the foundation of a strong and competitive nonoil economy and for this reason we are building out infrastructure very aggres sively, building out capaci ty for social services, roads, bridges, ports, hospitals, schools etc and we are doing this with the support of a number of strategic and im portant development part ners not least among whom is the IDB”.

Minister Singh also ex

pressed appreciation for the strong support the IDB has been providing on the public sector side.

“Given the changes that are taking place in the Guyanese economy, we see the role played by institu tions like the IDB changing somewhat in the course of the next few years. And in particular, we see the need for increased emphasis on private sector operations be cause in fact this rapid ex pansion in the Guyanese economy is being driven by the private sector and re quires sustained investment by the private sector going forward,” Minister Singh said.

– AG says work ongoing on other recommendations ahead of upcoming CFATF evaluation

From left: Muneshwers Limited Accountant Rabindra Buddai, General Manager of Muneshwers Limited Chandradat Chintamini, Muneshwers Limited Executive Director Robin Muneshwer, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, General Manager of the IDB Country Department Caribbean Group and Country Representative in Jamaica Tariq Alli, IDB Guyana Country Representative (ag) Lorena Solorzano Salazar, IDB Investment Officer Mark Peters, and IDB Guyana Communicator and Civil Society Liaison Ravena Gildharie-Shiwsankar

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC

Essequibo woman to stand trial for killing older partner

Following a Preliminary Inquiry (PI) on Monday, Magistrate Esther Sam, presiding at the Charity Magistrate’s Court, ruled that sufficient evidence was made out against Sukwah to put her on trial by a jury before a Judge.

Accordingly, the ac cused killer was commit ted to stand trial at the next practicable sitting of the Essequibo Criminal Assizes.

A50-year-old woman has been commit ted to stand trial for killing her older partner.

Radha Sukwah, a domestic worker of Charity Housing Scheme, Essequibo Coast, was initially charged with the offence of manslaughter on August 10, 2018.

It is alleged that she unlawfully killed 73-yearold Deonarine (only name given), also known as “Russian” on August 3, 2018, at his house. She has not been required to plead to the indictable charge.

Sukwah was represented by Attorney-at-Law Motie Singh. Attorney-at-Law Bernard DaSilva was grant ed a fiat by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to prosecute the case. In the meantime, the accused re mains on $400,000 bail.

The elderly man was shot and killed on August 3, 2018, at his Pomeroon house. Initially, Sukwah had reportedly told the Police that the man was shot by an intruder who had attempted to kill him during a robbery.

However, during the investigation, the detec tives recognised some in consistencies in the wom an’s statements, and as

such, she was transport ed to the Major Crimes Investigation Unit, Eve Leary, Georgetown, where she was further interrogat ed.

After a few hours, she allegedly confessed to the crime, claiming that she was defending herself. In a detailed account of what took place, she claimed that on the night of the murder, Deonarine collected her from her home and took her to his house.

While there, she made

dinner and they ate after which they retired to bed. After having sexual inter course, an argument en sued between the couple af ter she refused to have sex with him for a second time.

The argument, she told detectives, escalated, and the farmer reportedly armed himself with a knife and threatened to kill her if she did not comply with his request.

This led to a scuffle be tween them, resulting in the woman being injured as she attempted to take the weapon. The knife, she told detectives, fell to the floor, and in retaliation, the el derly man ran to the lower flat of the house, where he collected the firearm from a secured safe and returned. She attempted to take the gun from him, but it went off, mortally wounding him.

After the incident, she reportedly got rid of the weapon and raised an alarm, claiming that the el derly man was shot during a robbery. The pensioner was rushed to the Charity Hospital, where he was pro nounced dead on arrival.

Interdicted Policeman convicted of engaging girl in sexual activity

Kissoon, Wayde Padmore faced one charge each for rape of a child under 16, sexual activity with a child under 16, and causing a child to view a sex act.

Following hours of de liberations on Monday, the 12 jurors, through the fore woman, announced that they could not arrive at a verdict on the first charge.

They, however, found 28-year-old Padmore guilty of engaging in sexual ac tivity with the girl and not guilty of causing her to watch a sexual act. The girl was 13.

He committed the of fence in October 2020.

According to the pros ecution’s facts, Padmore was a regular visitor to the girl’s home as he is known to her family. It was al leged that he raped her in December 2019.

In October 2020, he at tempted to rape the girl for a second time, but when he was unsuccessful, he al legedly masturbated in her presence until he ejaculat ed.

In relation to the charge on which he was convicted, Padmore, who was remand ed to prison, will return to court on November 25 for a sentencing hearing.

On the charge for which the jury returned

hung, he will be informed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) as to when he will be retried.

Padmore was represent ed by defence counsel Clyde Forde, while the prosecu tion’s case was present ed by three State Counsel, namely, Cicelia Corbin, Caressa Henry, and Paneeta Persaud. The tri al was heard in-camera at the Sexual Offences Court in Demerara.

Padmore, who was first tried for the offences earli er this year, had to await a retrial after the jury re turned hung on all three counts.

Changing times…

…for LA Leftists?

As your Eyewitness predicted yesterday, Lula squeaked past Bolsonaro in the Brazilian presidential sweepstakes – and is now going to serve a third term at his country’s helm. The first time around in the early 2000s he became the de facto leader of what the US and Western commentators dubbed a leftist “pink wave” in Latin America. Well, after a swing to the right with Bolsonaro and other right-wingers, the pendulum has swung again with Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Nicaragua, and Mexico all shaded “pink”.

So, does this mean we’re gonna have another ideological war in the hemisphere where the US will attempt to oust the lefties?? Not really! Apart from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, the others aren’t really ideologically Marxist or anything like that. Their policies are more pragmatic than anything – in trying to address the widespread poverty in their countries – which could explode into violence if left unattended. In his first iteration, Lula became the darling of the international left – even as he adopted neo-liberal policies – but simultaneously attacked poverty. He was able to move 30 million Brazilians out of poverty – which expanded Brazil’s industrialisation to hold its own among the other BRICS grouping.

So, what’s ahead for Brazil?? First of all, the right-wingers aren’t going anywhere – Bolsonaro, who’s also attacked poverty – received just less than two per cent votes than Lula!! If Lula doesn’t deliver on his promises – especially to the poor – he’ll be gone in the next elections!! And that’s the way it should be in functioning democracies, shouldn’t it?? That’s the lesson for our Opposition parties – especially the PNC leader. Lula was jailed for a year and a half for corruption – but he yet came back to clinch the presidency!!

The secret is his messaging!! Bolsonaro faltered on COVID by fumfering while Brazil suffered the second highest number of fatalities after the US. Likewise, the economy of the Ukraine war disrupted supply chains. Lula’s party has a credible programme and while the country’s severely divided, there were enough swing votes to ease him in. Guyana’s at the same crossroads – but rather than presenting a credible ALTERNATIVE programme, the Opposition’s only focusing on polarising their constituency – which isn’t enough to put them into office!!

The other lesson for us is the voting system. With over 126 million voters, everything’s done electronically. So that the same evening the polls were closed, the result was declared!! Bolsonaro, like his hero Trump in the US – had made some noises questioning the integrity of the voting machines – but it looks like he was mature enough not to continue down that path.

He realises that he’ll have an even chance in four years!! Would that our Opposition was as mature!!

…for “outside” interference??

The Opposition parties been cussing out the PPP something nasty – an “illegally, installed cabal’ is the mildest !! – ever since their fingers were pried from the ship of state’s steering wheel in Aug 2020!! And who installed them?? Even though the whole world condemned their outrageous rigging attempt, they picked on the US and their Ambassador Sara-Ann Lynch!! They lobbied frantically to get her fired and the PPP be unseated!! To no avail!!

Well, even though they condemned the claimed “regime change”, the Opposition’s been working assiduously for the US to oust the PPP!! Last weekend, there was a gathering of all my friends in high (political) places from Brooklyn at a “Town Hall Meeting” to denounce the big, bad anti-black racist PPP!! Now your Eyewitness knows that because the officials gathered all had large African-Guyanese constituencies in their district – they had to pander to them.

But to what end?? On their outrageous accusations, do they really believe the US won’t ask, “Where’s the beef?”

…for men?

Was the naming of the initiative to get young men back on the straight and narrow – Men on Mission – a Freudian slip about where it all went wrong?? The acronym spells out – MOM!!

Are MOMs too soft on “their” boys??

Manslaughter accused: Radha Sukwah

Dead: Deonarine

An interdicted Policeman, who was tried for three sexu

al offences, has been found guilty of one of them.

Before Justice Sandil

Guilty: Wayde Padmore

Guyana holds bilateral talks with India in UAE on sidelines of ADIPEC conference

around energy security

India offers help training petroleum engineers

Guyana, which is being represent ed at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) 2022 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), by Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat, used the occasion to enter talks with India on energy security, as well as training Guyanese for upstream and downstream engineering.

News of the discussions in Abu Dhabi came from Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs. Puri, who is also the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, had a discussion with his Guyanese counterpart on Monday, on the sidelines of ADIPEC.

In a tweet, Puri said that

he discussed areas of coop eration in the energy sec tor during the meeting with Bharrat. Also discussed was the willingness of Indian companies to assist Guyana in training engineers for up stream and downstream sec tors. According to Puri, this is so that Guyana can maximise the production of oil from the landmark discoveries.

And in a statement, the Indian High Commission in Guyana confirmed the talks, noting that Puri has extended the offer of assis tance in training the engi neers, to Guyana. The High Commission also drew ref erence to the strong bilater al relationship that the two countries enjoy.

For years, the Government of India has been offering several schol arships for Guyanese in var

ious areas, including mili tary, medical, technical, and cultural training. The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation or ITEC pro gramme, fully funded by the Government of India, has progressed over the years. It now attracts participants from 161 countries in Asia, Africa, East Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean, as well as Pacific and Small Island countries.

“India and Guyana’s his torical bilateral relations are underpinned by robust ongoing cooperation in a dif ferent sector, especially in healthcare, education, cul ture, finance, training, and capacity building,” the High Commission said.

“A large number of de velopmental cooperation projects being executed by the Government of India in

Kwakwani Hospital to see further renovations in 2023

…new A&E area expanded

nor operating theatre,” the Minister penned.

The Government has been making significant in vestments in both primary healthcare and major hos pitals across the country. Back in August, it was an nounced that the Ali-led Administration would be pumping US$160 million to upgrade three of Guyana’s main healthcare facilities – the Georgetown Public Hospital, New Amsterdam Hospital, and Linden Hospital Complex – which are geared to modernise the healthcare services Guyanese receive.

Guyana under various assis tance in the form of support to combat COVID-19, ITEC/ ICCR scholarships, Grant/ Line of Credit developmen tal infrastructure projects, etc, demonstrate the com

mitment of India in being a reliable partner in Guyana’s developmental journey.”

The ADIPEC confer ence in Abu Dhabi, UAE, runs from October 31 to November 3 and has drawn

delegates from around the world. Minister Bharrat himself will participate in a ministerial panel on November 2, along with his Timor-Leste counterpart, Dr Victor da Soares.

The Kwakwani Hospital in Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice), will see further expansion in the new year, with rehabilitative works recently completed at the fa cility.

This was announced by Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony after a recent vis it to the hospital. According to the Minister, several up grades were rolled out this year. In 2023, among the

additions would be a small operating theatre to better serve residents.

“I visited the Kwakwani Hospital and had discus sions with the staff. The Government of Guyana has expanded the Accident and Emergency area and up graded the wards with new beds and the laboratory with the latest diagnostic equip ment. In 2023, further ren ovations will be done, and the intention is to add a mi

At that time, the Health Minister said that Government had spent some $1 billion to fix the existing facilities. He highlighted that some of the older hospi tals required a lot more re sources. Specifically at New Amsterdam Hospital, in the past two years, the theatres have been fixed, the dialysis unit has been restarted and a separate building has been identified for maternal and child health.

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony facilitating discussions with staffers at the hospital

The bilateral meeting between Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat and Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, on the sidelines of ADIPEC

El Dorado Offshore, MoH partner to offer key services at health fair

tancy, HIV testing, and den tal care among others.

Head of El Dorado Offshore Guyana, Sherry Ferrell explained that since October generates massive awareness of breast cancer, the company sought to fulfil its corporate social respon sibility in a holistic manner by offering wide-ranging ser vices.

ElDorado Offshore on Monday collaborat ed with the Health Ministry to organise a com prehensive health fair in ob servance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The inaugural health fair was held at the Promenade Gardens, Georgetown, and saw persons benefitting from services such as optometry, adolescent health sensitisa tion, blood donation, consul

“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month but we de cided that in addition to the services for breast cancer, we were going to provide ad ditional services. El Dorado Offshore is very committed to our social responsibility and coming out of that, we have held several other ini tiatives throughout Guyana. Because of the awareness be ing placed on breast cancer, we decided to reach out to the Ministry, who was very willing and forthcoming with us to have this initiative,” Ferrell indicated.

She underscored that they are seeking to create av enues whereby the popula tion can keep their health in check.

“So far, it has been the first fair but it wouldn’t be the last,” she assured.

At the various booths, staffers from the Health Ministry were engag ing persons and offering their respective services. Naudia Baptiste from the Georgetown Public Hospital’s Eye Clinic told this publica

tion that they were able to as sist with basic screening.

“Anybody that has any problems with their eyes or just wants to do a check-up, can come and get their eyes screened or checked. It is very important to get your eyes checked because there are many persons that have lost their eyesight and they

did not know and it is some thing that can happen very suddenly,” she explained.

The Mental Health Unit was also present, conducting sensitisation and encourag ing persons to prioritise their mental health.

Meanwhile, Mercedes Roberts underscored, “Apart from sensitisation, we’re also on a mission to break the stigma that is surrounding mental health and mental ill ness because we don’t want people to always link mental health with something that is negative or negative words like ‘crazy’, ‘mad’ and stuff like that.”

Based on interaction with

persons, Roberts told Guyana Times that a majority of per sons are unaware of what mental health comprises and how to positively look at the topic.

“We have noticed that a lot of people from the public don’t know exactly what it is…That is a way for us to ed ucate people and say that it can be as simple as you have a good mental health day or a bad mental health day.”

El Dorado Offshore has been operating in Guyana as the leading supplier of man power, recruitment, and per sonnel logistics services in the oil sector and to all stake holders.

Head of El Dorado Offshore Guyana, Sherry Ferrell

Some persons capitalised on various testing offered

Eye testing conducted on an elderly woman

CA$2.25M project launched to close gaps, promote sexual and reproductive rights among females

The CA$2.25 million

“Equal Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)” Project was launched on Monday and is expected to protect women and girls in Guyana including Indigenous and Venezuelan migrants, by enhancing their ability to make decisions about their sexual and repro ductive lives.

Launched by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in partnership with Canada and Guyana, the project also aims to strength en systems to prevent and re spond to instances of GenderBased Violence (GBV).

It is recognised that SRHR is fundamental to peo ple’s health, well-being, and economic development and that the improvement of the well-being of women and ad olescent girls in particular de pends on their ability to make decisions about their own sex ual and reproductive lives.

Linked to this, is the pro tection of women and girls from GBV and the strength ening of systems to respond to instances of GBV.

The project will primar ily target the population of administrative Regions One, Seven, Eight, and Nine, inclu sive of Indigenous women and girls, Venezuelan migrants, persons of diverse gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation, persons

living with disabilities, and sex workers.

The project will utilise in ternationally recognised prin ciples (HRBAP and RBM) and will mainly implement evi dence-based and sustainable interventions. It was related that UNFPA will work with Government and civil society stakeholders and UN agen cies to ensure complementari ty and coherence among other programme interventions and to aid the implementation of this initiative.

The main implementing partners of the UNFPA in Guyana will be the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association, and Help & Shelter.

Officer in Charge at the UNFPA Subregional Office for the Caribbean, Jewelry

Quallo-Rosberg expressed that this mechanism will add to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Three and Five.

“Simply, we aim to im prove access to the services for women girls and vulner able populations, essential ly those who are most at risk, the vulnerable persons of di verse gender identity, gender expression, and sexual ori entation, persons living with disabilities, and sex workers.

UNFPA believes that initia tives such as Equal SRHR are imperative to assist Guyana to attain its development goals,” Quallo-Rosberg ex pressed.

Meanwhile, Canadian High Commissioner Mark Berman announced that the project comes at a strategic time, since accessibility, af fordability, and sustainabili

ty quality, accountability, and availability of sexual and re productive health services without discrimination con tinues to be a major issue.

“Lack of access to sexual and reproductive health con tinues to contribute to gen der inequalities...There are still pockets of the population that are unable to access sex ual reproductive health ser vices and support for victims of gender-based violence. And that’s why this project was

conceptualised. The focus as has been said will be on in creasing the access and qual ity of these critical health and support services to women and girls.”

He commended the Government for making sig nificant strides to help wom en and girls who are victims of gender-based violence over the years.

Human Services Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud zeroed in on the fact that Guyana has moved up on the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report from 53 to 35 within a short period of time.

“It really tells you the sig nificant work that has been done in the shortest period of time across sectors, all con tributing to reducing gender inequality. So, we want to en sure that as a Government, we continue to pay the kind of importance as attention to the triggers, the factors and the causes, which will inevi tably lead to the widening or

the continuation of gender in equality.”

Dr Persaud added, “I can say that the work of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security has not been without its challenges, but we are very happy to have partners like Canada and also our sister Ministries, as well. As many NGOs and imple menting partners like UN, UNFPA, and also the overar ching spotlight initiative that would help us to assure that we eradicate some of the ma jor things that contribute to wards still having the pres ence of gender-based violence in our country.”

This project aligns with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy that focuses on clos ing gaps in the sexual and re productive health and rights (SRHR) for women and girls globally, UNFPA’s 20222025 Strategic Plan, as well as Guyana’s National Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy.

Human Services Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud and Canadian High Commissioner Mark Berman joined by other stakeholders at the signing ceremony on Monday

Foreign Affairs Minister calls for stronger IndiaGuyana relationship during Diwali observance

The High Commission of India and Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC) in Georgetown celebrated Diwali on Saturday last with a grand cultural show.

The event started with the lighting of the ceremo nial lamp by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, Ministers of the Cabinet and Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, HE Dr Srinivasa.

This was followed by a medley of mesmerising mu sic and dance performances by the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre Kathak Dance Teacher Varsha J Chaudhari and her students; National Dance Company of Guyana; and students of Texila University.

The performances were a mix of classical, including Kathak and Kuchipudi, fu sion, and popular Bollywood items, thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated by the audi

ence.

Dr KJ Srinivasa, during his address, related that Diwali was being celebrat ed in Guyana at a large lev el after two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic while the Diwali Motorcade or ganised by Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha (GHDS) also made its return.

He further highlighted the importance of the religious festival celebrated all over the world by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists - some of the world’s oldest religions.

It is the day when Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana. It is also the day celebrated as the day of the birth and mar riage of Goddess Lakshmi. In south India, the homecoming of legendary King Bali is cel ebrated. Most importantly, Diwali is a festival celebrat ing the victory of good over evil, celebrating goodness. Lighting the lamp - the diya - is a chance to remember,

even in the midst of darkness, that light will ultimately pre vail. Diwali is also a time for prayer, reflection, and con templation, to reflect on our obligations to help our fellow human beings, particularly the less fortunate. And as we light the diya - the lamp - we recommit ourselves to the tri umph of light over darkness, of good over evil. Guyana’s harmonious coexistence of its multi-cultural and multi-re ligious society has been dis played in the slogan of One Guyana.

However, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd, speaking on behalf of the President of Guyana, ac knowledged the huge influ ence of Indian culture, includ ing Diwali and Phagwah, on the moulding of Guyanese culture.

He noted how it has con tributed to making Guyana a culturally strong nation with so much diversity. He also

wished for a stronger IndiaGuyana relationship based on shared values of democracy, accountability, and religious tolerance.

In addition, Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud spoke on the impor

tance of the festival of Diwali, how the lighting of the diya symbolises the lighting of the inner self of a person, remov ing darkness and bringing hope.

She also explained how goddess Lakshmi is associ ated with the festival and

her worship on the occasion brings about happiness and prosperity. She also recount ed that after a two-year ab sence, the Diwali Motorcade, a symbol of vibrant Indian culture in Guyanese society, returned in a grand way. She wished that Diwali would continue to kindle the hearts of people and help in unifying them.

Meanwhile, Speaker of the House, Manzoor Nadir reiterated the importance of Hindu culture in Guyanese society.

He reminisced about his visits to various religious places in India and the pu rifying effect he felt on his personal life. He recalled his younger days when earthen Diyas were used to light up homes and streets in Guyana. He paid homage to the thou sands of people who lost their lives to the COVID-19 pan demic and wished that the vibrant Guyanese festivals would now return with all glory and prosperity. The cel ebrations included tradition al Indian food and savouries which added to the eclectic mix.

The event was also graced by various dignitaries, offi cials of the Government of Guyana, members of the dip lomatic corps, Indian nation als, members of the IndoGuyanese diaspora, friends & well-wishers of India.

Muneshwers Ltd, IDB ink...

“We would like to see more private sector opera tions done because we see this as absolutely critical to ensure that we are able to realise the private sector-led growth that we anticipate will take us through the me dium term to long term,” the Finance Minister empha sised.

Alluding to the impor tance of this specific project, he concluded that the sig nificance of the project does not only lie in the amount invested but in the fact that the IDB can do business with the private sector in Guyana.

In April this year, the Finance Minister host ed a roundtable meeting with representatives of the private sector and James

Scriven at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre where the teams discussed Guyana’s development agenda.

The meeting focused on the wide range of private sector opportunities for in vestment by the Bank such as an expansion of trade fi nancing with commercial banks and providing sup port to micro-enterprises.

Additionally, discussions centred on various sectors poised for rapid expansion including oil and gas, agri culture and agro-processing, tourism and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

It also allowed for an ex amination of available fi nancing instruments, var ious mechanisms, and

modalities of accessing this financing and examples of how these mechanisms have worked in other countries.

IDB-Invest is the private sector arm of the IDB. Its aim is to advance econom ic development and improve lives by encouraging the growth of the private sec tor. It offers an array of in vestment opportunities and provides its clients with cus tomised financing solutions and expert advice, tailored to their specific industry and market.

The Government has been working aggressively to create the conditions for private sector-led growth, with Government policies designed to create jobs and allow for income generation.

A student of Texila University performing a traditional Indian dance

Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, HE Dr Srinivasa, Ministers of Government and other officials

One of the groups performing a dance piece

GMSA lauds Govt for $900M revolving fund for forestry sector

The Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) has lauded the Government for its land mark decision to establish a $900 million revolving fund to boost the forestry sec tor, in collaboration with Demerara Bank Limited (DBL).

In a statement on Monday, GMSA noted that it has been calling on a mea sure such as this for over a decade, to help various sec tors transition to value-add ed production. The matter was further raised by GMSA President Rafeek Khan, at the Association’s mid-year dinner.

Khan made anoth er request in the GMSA’s 2023 budget submission to the Government. The Association was still await ing feedback when President Ali advanced the decision and announced the fund during an event last week.

Khan was quoted in the statement saying that the initiative of a revolving fund of 900 million “will undoubt edly significantly positively impact the manufacturing sector for more value-added products and for retooling companies to improve their extraction capabilities”.

Additionally, GMSA not ed that the support the re

volving fund will provide to persons in the forestry sec tor will significantly im prove the production of raw materials for sawmillers and manufacturers in the value chain.

“This announcement came shortly after the President listened to the challenges faced by the sec tor, including small, me dium, and large-scale pro ducers across the country, during a week-long consul tation meeting hosted by senior staff of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the Minister of Natural Resources,” GMSA said.

According to the Association, GFC had high lighted during the stake holder consultation that the growth of the forestry sector production for 2022 would be more than 50,000 cubic me tres compared to this same period in 2021. However, current production is only approximately 1/3 of the an nual allowable quota.

“While the improve ment is commendable, both His Excellency and the Hon Minister Vickram Bharrat emphasised that many for est concession operators are currently underproduc ing. The President and the Minister also reiterated the importance of value addition in the sector. Hon Vickram

Bharrat also encouraged loggers to collaborate and form consortiums to tackle the problem of poor second ary roads, especially when many concessions are locat ed nearby each other.”

“He indicated that this consortium or partnership would also be able to sup ply the bigger markets and more access to finances reli ably. Mr Khan contributed to discussions about oppor tunities to benefit the man ufacturing companies in the forestry sector from the cur rent exponential shift of the domestic and regional mar ket growth for value-added products. But this produc tion increase barely scratch es the surface of meeting the current demand.”

GMSA noted that while the major development and rehabilitation of hinterland roads are ongoing, forest producers are still lagging and thus, unable to satisfy the current market demand. The Association revealed that during the recent con sultation, stakeholders clearly identified that access to affordable finance is the key catalyst in driving any of our sectors.

“Access to financing will improve extraction capa bilities, especially for small loggers in remote forest lo cations; and also enhance

No 52/74 NDC to soon operate separately

TheNeighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) will be separated into two separate entities, ac cording to Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall.

He made the announce ment while meeting with farmers on the Corentyne, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), on Saturday.

The NDC is the larg est of the seventy NDCs in the country and consists of twenty-five villages, includ ing Number Naught.

The Minister pointed out that local authorities were having difficulties manag ing the affairs of the NDC and as such, a decision was taken to establish separate offices.

However, Dharamlall said that there have been numerous complaints com ing from the NDC.

“I am amazed... Like it is another part of the world, the way people in this NDC operate; everybody is fight ing each other down.”

He pointed out that one of the major issues affecting the smooth management of the NDC is the conflict be tween cattle owners and rice farmers.

Many rice farmers are

themselves cattle farmers. It was reported that rice farm ers have repeatedly been ac cusing the cattle owners of deliberately allowing their animals to feast on their crops and on the other hand, the cattle owners have ac cused the rice farmers of im pounding their animals.

Currently, two persons are before the courts follow ing an altercation between two farmers which resulted in bloodshed.

“Some of the cultivation areas are in the midst of the cattle area or cattle in the midst of cultivation. At some point we have to find com mon ground,” Dharamlall noted.

He explained that the area will be zoned so there are designated areas for an

imals and those for rice and other crops.

Meanwhile, one resident, Krissondat Persaud, ques tioned the reason residents were not consulted before the decision was made to split the NDC and expressed concern that the two new NDCs will not be treated equally by the Government, especially with its annual subvention.

However, Minister Dharamlall assured that will not happen.

“Our Government works in an equitable way, so what goes for you will also go for them and what goes for them will also go for you.” He not ed that all of the NDCs in the country are being treat ed equally.

promotions and market de velopment for lesser-known wood species. Further, stakeholders stated that traditional industries would continue to perish and not benefit from the golden op portunity of our new oil and gas economy without appro priate access to finance.”

“The construction sector has been expanding at light ning speed with demands for value-added products. Consumers are becoming more sophisticated in choos ing higher-quality products that local manufacturers do not easily meet,” GMSA fur ther said in the statement.

They warned that import substitution will have to fill the gap if local operators cannot meet the demand. And according to them, the current demand is for stan dard manufactured products such as doors, wall cladding, ceiling, flooring and basic furniture, which includes ta bles, chairs, benches, beds and cupboards.

“A further integrated value-added product is the

demand for affordable hous ing across the Caribbean.

For instance, there is a ma jor shortage of pre-fabri cated wooden homes in the Region which can satisfy the requirements towards Sustainable Development Goals for the housing mar ket by utilising locally pro duced timber products which are environmentally friendly and contributes to less emissions of CO2 in the housing sector.”

It was announced just a

few days ago by President Ali that with assistance from Demerara Bank Limited, the Guyana Government has set up a $900 million re volving fund that is aimed at boosting the forestry sector to meet market demands.

According to the President, $300 million from the State’s coffers has been set aside for this revolving fund. This sum will be fur ther supplemented by $600 million more provided by Demerara Bank Limited.

Fmr CDC Head appointed Deputy Executive Director of CDEMA

TheChair of the Management Committee of the Council of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Ambassador Elma Gene Isaac of Saint Lucia, has announced the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig as Deputy Executive Director of the Agency with effect from January 3, 2023.

He will be based at the Barbados headquarters.

Lieutenant Colonel Craig, a national of Guyana, is a disaster risk manage ment practitioner, with over 25 years of military service and more than 16 years of disaster management expe rience working with com munity groups, Government agencies, and national, re gional, and international non-governmental organi sations (NGOs) in the Local Government, health, securi ty, private and environmen tal sectors.

Colonel Craig served as the Director General of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) of Guyana for 5 years up until July 2022 and as an independent Disaster Risk Management Professional thereafter.

He has previously held the positions of Deputy Director General and Operations and Training Officer at the Civil Defence Commission, Guyana; Avionics Supervisor and Adjutant at Air Corps; and Infantry Commander/ Platoon Commander for the Guyana Defence Force’s First Infantry Battalion.

He presently serves as a part-time lecturer for a post-graduate programme at the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Guyana.

Lieutenant Colonel Craig also served as the Chairman and member of the CDEMA Plan Development and Review Subcommittee for seven years. He has also been the Vice-Chairman of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) Special Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction; Founder and President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Alumni (Guyana); Founder and Coordinator of the CDC’s Volunteer Corps; and mem ber of the National Disaster Risk Management Platform and the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM).

He is the holder of

a Master’s of Public Administration – Emergency Management from Walden University, a Bachelor of Arts in Emergency and Disaster Management (Honours) from the America Military University, an Advanced Diploma in Project Management from The Business School, and an Advanced Diploma in Aeronautical Engineering from the Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School.

He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute and recipient of the Military Efficiency Medal (MEM).

These qualifications are complemented by var ious professional develop ment certifications in the field of climate change and disaster risk management, hydrology and hydraulics modelling, and national emergency operations cen tre management, among others. Lieutenant Colonel Craig also has an avid in terest in climate change, the environment, human rights, poverty alleviation, and vol unteering.

At CDEMA, Lieutenant Colonel Craig will lead the Technical Programme Management Division (TPMD) which is respon sible for the strategic and technical leadership of the Agency’s Disaster Risk Management (DRM) pro gramme in the areas of response, recovery, pre paredness, disaster risk re duction, education, research and training.

Col Kester Craig

Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall

has been calling for similar measures for decades

GMSA President Rafeek Khan

MoH commissions 1st dialysis centre in Reg 2

The Health Ministry on Monday commis sioned its first-ev er dialysis centre in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) in the compound of the Suddie Regional Hospital.

The venture was possi ble through collaborations between the Government of Guyana and the 5G Dialysis Centre, thus making it the first in the region.

At the opening ceremony, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony expressed his ap preciation for the support

public sector and we extend ed to Essequibo and with the assistance of Mr George, who provided the training for the staff to offer service here,” Dr Anthony said He highlighted the need for preventative measures to be taken to decrease the de mand for dialysis among pa tients.

“We have to make more efforts to prevent people from reaching the stage of having to use dialysis,” Minister Anthony said.

Further, he explained

and efforts of the 5D Dialysis Centre in their partnership with the Ministry to provide dialysis treatment to pa tients along the Essequibo Coast.

“We have opened a dial ysis centre in Linden for the first time. It’s a joint venture between the private and

that the dialysis service is a very significant as pect of healthcare, and per sons across the region were trained to provide the ser vice and cater to patients.

However, the Director of 5G Dialysis Centre, Asafo George highlighted the im portance of the machine

while adding that it will im prove the health of those in need of the treatment.

He thanked Minister Anthony for the opportuni ty to become partners in the venture and to an extent, the health sector.

Meanwhile, Rajendra Singh of Cullen was the first patient to receive treatment

on the dialysis machine and told Guyana Times that he felt healthier after receiving his first treatment.

He added that the cen tre eases the burden of him travelling to Georgetown thrice per week to access treatment.

“For me to travel three

times a week, it’s very hard... Sometimes the pas sage is too much and also to wake up early as one in the morning to catch a big boat does be tiring... And then have to travel back home; it is too much for me,” Singh related.

The Government of Guyana, in its 2022 bud get, allocated approximately $180 million to alleviate the burden of expensive dialysis treatment for persons with chronic kidney disease. This provided $600,000 annually for each patient on dialysis treatment, given that many persons were finding it dif ficult to finance their treat ment, especially those need ing this service three times weekly.

Dialysis is a procedure to remove waste products and excess fluid from the blood when the kidneys stop working properly. It often involves diverting blood to a machine to be cleaned.

Those who undergo dial ysis are at increased risk of

getting hepatitis B and C. The virus can be transmit ted from the use of multidose drug vials and contamina tion of medical equipment. Hepatitis B and C may cause liver infections that can lead to serious complica tions, including liver cancer, liver failure or death.

As a result, the Health Minister had announced earlier this year that Government would absorb the exorbitant costs for dial ysis patients who have con tracted hepatitis C.

Present at the opening were Chief Medical Officer, Dr Narine Singh; Regional Health Officer, Dr Ranjeev Singh, Regional Chairperson Vilma Da Silva, Regional Vice Chairman Humace Oudit, Nephrologist at tached to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, Dr Hemchand Barran, and Chairperson of the Health and Sanitation Committee Arnold Adams. (Raywattie Deonarine)

Region 2 health system boosted with $24M water ambulance

administration to transport patients from Supenaam to Parika who might be in need of emergency medical assis tance.

The river ambulance is fully equipped with the nec essary medical gadgets in cluding an oxygen tank, heart monitors, stretcher, and other equipment which will play a critical role in providing support in a fast and efficient manner until the patients are transferred to a hospital.

Dr Anthony encouraged the administration to use the vessel for its intended purposes while noting that the region’s health sector has been greatly boosted.

HealthMinister Dr Frank Anthony on Monday handed

over a river ambulance and a boat house to the tune of $24 million to the Region Two

Additionally, elaborat ing more on the vessel, Regional Health Officer (RHO), Dr Ranjeev Singh related that it will help the hospitals to have transpor tation to Parika in an event

of an emergency and more so when an aircraft cannot land at the airstrip.

“This will be an efficient way to transport our pa tients without their lives being at risk. Sometimes the plane cannot come to the airstrip due to climate weather and proper lighting at night... So, we can jour ney our patients [to] hospi tals in a timely manner,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Regional Chairperson Vilma De Silva thanked the Government for the major boost in the health sector, specifically the river ambulance and the newly commissioned dialysis cen tre.

She added that the deliv ery service is very important in the health system and as such, lauded the effort of the Government for its timely interventions.

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony at the ceremonial ribbon cutting

The river ambulance that was handed over to the regional health sector

Rajendra Singh was the first patient to receive treatment from the machines on Monday

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony

5G Dialysis Centre Director Asafo George

One of the patients receiving treatment

Govt committed to improve living conditions in prisons – Home Affairs PS

Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Home Affairs Ministry, Mae Toussaint Jr Thomas stated that the Government is com mitted to improve not only the living conditions in the prisons but also promoting the rehabilitation and social reintegration of prisoners.

The PS made these com ments during her visit to the

Camp Street and Timehri prisons on Sunday.

Jr Thomas was accompa nied by a team of technical and administrative support staff of the Ministry along with Director of Prisons Nicklon Elliot, Deputy Director of Prions Kevin Pilgrim, Finance Officer Mark Smith and Technical Officer Afelete Cummings

where they had a first-hand assessment of the conditions of the various facilities.

The PS, during her in teraction with some of the inmates, assured them that the Government will con tinue to invest significant ly in their wellbeing. To this end, over $5 billion is been spent to construct new state-of-the-art buildings

at Mazaruni and Lusignan Prison locations.

At Lusignan, the three facilities will soon be oper ationalised to accommodate prisoners.

Meanwhile, according to Director of Prisons Nicklon Elliot, the new facilities will improve security, welfare, and accommodation for pris oners. It will also aid in ad equately separating prison ers based on their offence

and length of sentence.

Additionally, during the visit, the team also visit ed the kitchen where they sampled meals served to the inmates. At each location, inmates expressed their sat isfaction with the quality of the meals.

However, several con cerns were raised by in mates which attributed to the prolonged delays regard ing the extensive waiting pe riod for their trial by the ju

dicial system. Elliot then informed the inmates that he will meet with the relevant authori ties shortly and share their concerns about the prevail ing situation.

The team also visit ed the New Amsterdam and Lusignan Prisons be fore they were joined by the Permanent Secretary, who also visited the prison farm and Red Tilapia Pond at the Timehri Prison location.

GCCI joins in condemning unjustified arrest of lawyer

ing on the Commissioner of Police to launch a thorough investigation into the mat ter. This matter should not be viewed lightly as officers of the court, in the exercise of their professional duties, must do so in a manner that is devoid of intimidation tac tics,” the business chamber noted in a press statement.

Last Friday’s arrest of Attorney-at-Law

Tamieka Clarke by the Police over her advis ing her client to exercise his constitutional right to re main silent, has continued to draw wide condemnation from a wide cross-section of society.

Adding its voice to the issue is the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) which has made it clear that it con demns all attempts to stifle any citizen’s rights.

Clarke, who previously served as a State Counsel in the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions

(DPP), was arrested by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU)—an arm of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) tasked with investigating organised crimes. SOCU’s headquarters is located at Camp Street, Georgetown.

According to the GCCI, it is an organisation that pro motes a society governed by law and order. As such, it believes that the actions of SOCU bring the Police Force’s professionalism and objectivity into question and therefore called for the inci dent to be addressed imme diately and with the highest regard.

“We are, therefore, call

According to the GCCI, actions of this nature need to be publicly denounced. Based on credible informa tion, the body related that the arrest was initiated be cause the attorney exercised her professional duty and advised her client to exer cise his constitutional right to remain silent during at tempts to obtain a state ment from him for an ongo ing investigation.

It said, too, that it ap pears that Clarke had been threatened earlier in the week that she would be ar rested if her client failed to provide a statement to the Police on the said matter.

At a press conference shortly after her release, Clarke disclosed that she was retained by a client [name withheld], who was detained last week Friday by SOCU for computer-re lated fraud. She related that on numerous occasions she

advised her client to remain silent and against giving a statement to the investigat ing ranks.

The lawyer was only re leased after the interven tion of Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, who has already offered her a pro found apology for what he described as an “unfortu nate incident”.

After inquiring about the circumstances surround ing the arrest of counsel, Nandlall said that in his ca pacity as the constitutional legal advisor to Police Force, he immediately advised that she be released. Counsel re

lated that she was arrested and detained for almost an hour for obstructing an offi cer in the conduct of his du ties

Meanwhile, the Bar Association of Guyana was the first to denounce the lawyer’s arrest, pointing out that it reflected a disre gard for the rule of law and the fundamental right to counsel which are the “hall marks of a democratic soci ety”. It added that Clarke's arrest sought to destroy the foundations of democracy.

In “unreservedly and un equivocally” denouncing her arrest, the Bar described it as being “disturbing, per verse, unlawful, oppressive and wholly unacceptable.

The GBA, therefore, called on the acting Police Commissioner, Clifton Hicken, to: forthwith is sue an apology to Clarke; compensate her for unlaw ful imprisonment; launch a full investigation into the matter at hand with such necessary disciplinary ac tion enforced swiftly in cluding charges being laid against the offending offi cer(s), there being no lawful grounds for the arrest, and to exercise disciplinary ac tion including termination of any officer(s) who were

aware of and allowed this type conduct.

In a separate statement, the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL), on the other hand, made it clear that at no time should a lawyer be fearful of executing his/her duties. According to the legal asso ciation, an attorney has the legal right and responsibil ity to offer legal counsel to their client.

Its statement added, “One such responsibility is to remind the client that he/she cannot be compelled to give evidence in a crim inal matter, which is en shrined in Article 144 (7) of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.”

Emphasising that a law yer advising her client that he has a right to remain si lent during an interview is not outside of the scope of the law, the GAWL thus called on the Top Cop to is sue an apology and cause a probe to be promptly con ducted into SOCU’s actions.

Police have since an nounced that the incident is being probed by its Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). Clarke has mulled suing the State for false im prisonment.A

Attorney-at-Law Tamieka Clarke

Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mae Toussaint Jr Thomas and the team inside the Camp Street prison

Red Tilapia Pond at Timehri Prison

Regional

Brazil's Lula would like to attend COP27 summit, says foreign policy adviser

Brazilian Presidentelect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is keen on going to the COP27 United Nations climate summit in November, his senior foreign policy advis er Celso Amorim said on Monday, a day after he won the country's presidential election.

"He is interested (in go ing) and he received an in vitation from (Brazilian) governors," Amorim told Journalists in São Paulo. "Now we need to see the exact dates and whether it will work or not."

Meanwhile, the elec tion that saw leftist Lula elected for a third term as President reinforces trust in the country's democrat ic institutions, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Monday.

Price said figures from across Brazil's political spectrum had expressed respect for the outcome of

Sunday's vote, when asked whether he was concerned that incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro had not commented on the results.

"The vote reinforces our trust in the strength of Brazil's democratic in stitutions, which perform their constitutional roles in a free and fair election con ducted with transparency,"

Price said.

"A hallmark of every democracy is acceptance of the will of the people as ex pressed through elections, followed by a peaceful transfer of power – that's what the world will expect and what we anticipate they will see in the coming weeks," he added. (Excerpts from Reuters)

Costa Rica VP says charged in illegal campaign financing case

Costa Rica's Vice President Stephan Brunner said on Monday he had been charged for his alleged role in illicit financing during the elec toral campaign of President Rodrigo Chaves, who took office this year.

Brunner, a 61-year-old economist who served as Chaves' campaign treas urer, appeared on Monday before an Opposition-backed special commission in Costa Rica's Congress, which is in vestigating the alleged il legal contributions.

Brunner and Chaves have both previously main tained their innocence. The

presidency declined to re spond to Reuters' request for comment on the congres sional investigation.

Both Brunner and the President have immunity protections in office, though those powers could be sus pended if requested by the Supreme Court and ap proved by 38 of Congress' 57 seats. Chaves' party only holds 10 seats in Congress.

"I am subject to a case in court as a defendant," Brunner told deputies on Monday, explaining his deci sion not to testify in the con gressional investigation.

Costa Rican Prosecutors told Reuters that Brunner

was under criminal investi gation for illegally receiving private campaign contribu tions.

The congressional inves tigation is also looking into the financing of political parties, including Chaves' Social Democratic Progress Party.

In June, Costa Rica's elections court announced findings from probe into the campaign, which it said was backed by a "dark financing scheme" with money chan nelled from companies and foreigners through a pri vate trust managed by now Foreign Minister Arnoldo Andre. (Reuters)

Jamaica: Gunmen trade bullets in Tivoli Gardens in claimed attempt on Dudus’ son’s life

Gunmen on Sunday night reportedly made an attempt on the life of one of Dudus’ sons in Tivoli Gardens in West Kingston, re sulting in a shootout between gangsters in the community.

Information reaching Observer Online is that sever al men, said to be from a near by community, descended on Tivoli in an effort to kill the man, who is said to be one of the leaders in the community.

Residents said the men traded bullets for several min utes before the invading gun men fled the community.

Head of the Kingston Western Police Division,

Senior Superintendent Michael Phipps, confirmed there was a shooting in the area, but said the Police were still investigat ing to determine the motive be hind it.

The residents could not say why the men targeted Dudus’ son.

Dudus, real name, Mark Christopher Coke, was the area leader for West Kingston before he was captured on an extradi tion warrant, taken to the US and convicted on drug-related charges. He is currently serv ing his sentence in a US prison. (Jamaica Observer)

Haiti to investigate death of Journalist struck by tear gas cannister

Haitian authorities said Monday they will investigate the death of a Journalist who was fatally struck by a tear gas cannister at a protest outside a Police station, as the country faces growing gang violence and a humani tarian crisis.

Romelson Vilsaint, who worked for a local radio sta tion, was part of a group gathered outside a Police unit in the capital Port-auPrince on Sunday, when of ficers opened fire.

"Instructions have

been given to the General Inspectorate of the PNH (Haitian National Police) to investigate this incident in order to determine the cir cumstances and to ascertain, if need be, the responsibil ities," Police Chief Frantz Elbe said in a statement.

Elbe said Vilsaint had died in hospital from injur ies after being hit by the canister, as law enforcement officers attempted to control a "hostile crowd" approach ing the station.

Vilsaint's radio station, Radio Generation 80, said

he had been at the Police station alongside other Journalists calling for the release of a peer.

Haiti has been consumed by gang violence and civil unrest in recent months, prompting the United Nations to discuss sending in a possible strike force, though it remains unclear who would lead it.

Several journalists have been killed so far this year, with another surviving an assassination attempt earli er this month. (Reuters)

Colombia, Venezuela Presidents to meet in Caracas

Colombian President Gustavo Petro and his Venezuelan counter part Nicolás Maduro will meet in Caracas today to discuss their countries' re cently-thawed bilateral ties and expanded trade, the Colombian Government said on Monday.

The neighbors' fraught re lationship has improved since Petro took office in August on promises to fully restart trade, with cargo transport now al lowed at border crossings be tween the Colombian city of Cucuta and the Venezuelan state of Tachira.

"President Gustavo Petro will travel to the city of Caracas with his team to have lunch with the Venezuelan President," Petro's office said in a statement about the meeting – the leaders' first since the thaw in relations.

They will discuss bilateral relations, reopening the border and reintegrating Venezuela into the inter-American hu man rights systems, said the statement.

The meeting is part of ef

forts to boost regional econ omies and protect the Amazon, the statement added.

Venezuela is a guaran tor country at Colombia's talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) re bels, which will resume in November. Advocacy group Human Rights Watch has said Colombia could use the renewed relationship to help curb human rights violations in its neighbour.

Caracas broke off rela tions with Bogota in 2019 af

ter Venezuelan Opposition ac tivists tried to send aid trucks from Colombia. Maduro's Government said it was a front for an attempted coup. Previous Governments in Bogota have accused Maduro of harbouring Colombian reb el groups and criminals, ac cusations he has denied.

Bilateral trade totalled US$7 billion in 2008, before Venezuela's then President Hugo Chávez froze it to pro test a Bogota-Washington mil itary deal.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Trinidad Govt gets US$5.8M for flood damage

The Trinidad and Tobago Government has re ceived US$5.84 mil lion from the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) following the heavy rainfall that occurred in the twin island republic earlier this month.

Between October 5 and 8, 2022, rainfall caused wide spread damage to properties in eastern Trinidad affect ing areas including Arouca, Arima, Tunapuna, Sangre Grande, Piarco and St Helena.

The heavy rains led to the death of Theresa Lynch, 41, a farmer who lost her life when she was swept away by flood waters in her village of La Pastora.

The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) reported that the heavy rainfall im pacted operations at 25 sur face water treatment facilities in Trinidad’s northern region

and four in Tobago.

In a report on the week end, the CCRIF said that of the US$5.84 million the Government received from the facility, US$5.1 mil lion was made on the coun try’s excess rainfall policy for Trinidad and US$726,932 on the excess rainfall policy for Tobago.

In a September 3, 2021,

news release on its website, CCRIF said since Trinidad and Tobago purchased cover age for excess rainfall in 2017, the country had received pay outs under its excess rainfall policy each year – five payouts totalling US$12.5 million. The payout earlier this month makes it six payouts in six years for a total of US$18.34 million. (CMC)

Colombian President Gustavo Petro

Flooding in Chaguanas (GP)

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks at an election night gathering on the day of the Brazilian presidential election run-off, in São Paulo, Brazil, October 30, 2022 (Reuters/Carla Carniel)

OPEC raises longterm oil demand view, calls for investment

OPECraised its forecasts for world oil demand in the medium- and longer-term in an annual outlook released on Monday and said US$12.1 trillion of investment is needed to meet this demand despite the energy transition.

The view from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, in its 2022 World Oil Outlook, contrasts with that of other forecasters which see oil demand reaching a plateau before 2030 due to the rise of renewable energy and electric cars. Another decade of oil demand growth would be a boost for OPEC, whose 13 members depend on oil income. The group has been arguing that oil should be part of the energy transition and that focus by investors on economic, social and governance (ESG) issues has worsened an investment shortfall. "The overall investment number for the oil sector is US$12.1 trillion out to 2045," OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais wrote in the foreword to the report, which said the figure was up from last year's estimate. "However, chronic underinvestment into the global oil industry in recent years, due to industry downturns, the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as policies centred on ending financing in fossil fuel projects, is a major cause of concern." OPEC made a shift in 2020 when the pandemic hit demand, saying it would eventually slow after years of predicting ever-increasing consumption. In the report, OPEC maintained its view that world demand will plateau after 2035.

Other predictions from companies and banks see oil demand peaking earlier. The International Energy Agency on Thursday for the first time in its history of modelling said demand for all fossil fuels was set to peak, with oil demand levelling off in the middle of the next decade.

The report said world oil demand will reach 103 million barrels per day in 2023, up 2.7 million bpd from 2022. The 2023 total demand is up 1.4 million bpd from last year's prediction. OPEC also raised its demand forecasts for the medium term to 2027, saying the figure is up by almost 2 million bpd by the end of the period from last year. It said the upward revision reflects a more robust recovery now seen in 2022 and 2023 and a "strong focus on energy security issues" leading to a slower substitution of oil by other fuels such as natural gas, whose price has soared due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. By 2030, OPEC sees world demand averaging 108.3 million bpd, up from 2021, and lifted its 2045 figure to 109.8 million bpd from 108.2 million bpd in 2021. The group had lowered the 2045 projection over the last few years. OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, are again cutting supply to support the market. The report sees supply restraint continuing in the medium term, with OPEC output in 2027 lower than in 2022 as non-OPEC supply grows. Still, OPEC is upbeat about its later prospects, seeing its market share rising. US tight crude supply is seen peaking after the late 2020s, rather than around 2030 last year. "Oil is expected to remain the number one fuel in the global primary energy mix," the report said. (Reuters)

Around the World

Russia says movement of ships in Black Sea corridor is 'unacceptable'

Russiasaid on Monday

it was "unacceptable" for shipping to pass through a Black Sea secu rity corridor after it sus pended its participation in a Turkish- and UN-brokered deal that had allowed Ukraine to resume grain ex ports.

"The movement of ships along the security corridor is unacceptable, since the Ukrainian leadership and the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine use it to conduct military opera tions against the Russian Federation," the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.

"Under the current con ditions, there can be no question of guaranteeing the security of any object in the

indicated direction until the Ukrainian side accepts addi tional obligations not to use this route for military pur poses."

It emphasised, however, that Russia was not with

drawing from the deal but only suspending it, in a move that Moscow announced on Saturday after what it said was a Ukrainian drone at tack on its Black Sea fleet.

The Ministry did not

say what Russia would do if ships continued to sail the route. On Monday a record volume of 354,500 tonnes of agricultural products left Ukrainian ports under the grain deal, despite Moscow's weekend announcement, a spokesperson for Odesa's military administration said.

The Kremlin said ear lier on Monday that with out Russian security com mitments, the grain deal was "hardly feasible, and it takes on a different charac ter - much more risky, dan gerous and unguaranteed".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has ac cused Moscow of "blackmail ing the world with hunger" by pulling out of the agree ment. (Reuters)

US Supreme Court takes up race-based college admissions

TheUS Supreme Court is hearing two cases that could dramatical ly alter the extent to which universities can consider an applicant's race during the admissions process.

The eventual ruling could end decades-old affir mative action policies and significantly affect how uni versities manage admis sions.

Arguments in both cases began at the Supreme Court on Monday.

Affirmative action is among the most contentious issues in US education.

The cases concern ad missions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. The court is hear ing challenges to their ad missions policies, which consider race among many

Police arrest 9 over Indian bridge collapse, toll reaches 134

Indian Police arrested nine people on Monday, including ticketing clerks and contractors, as they investigate the col lapse of a foot bridge in which at least 134 people, including many children, were killed.

CCTV footage from just before the collapse showed a group of young men tak ing photos while others tried to rock the suspen sion bridge in Morbi from side to side, before they tumbled into the river be low as the cables gave way.

The colonial-era bridge over the Machchhu River was packed with sightse ers enjoying holiday fes tivities when it ruptured on Sunday evening, send

ing people plunging about 10 metres (33 feet) into the water.

Ashwin Mehra, who was undergoing treatment after sustaining leg and back injuries, said he and six others had reached the shore by holding onto the bridge's metal railings and netting.

"There were about 1520 boys aged between 2025 years who were shak ing the bridge," he told Reuters TV partner ANI. "...We heard some sounds three times, and the sixth time the cable (of the bridge) suddenly snapped."

A senior Police offi cial said nine people had been arrested, including managerial staff, ticket

ing clerks and three secu rity guards, for failing to regulate crowds before the bridge crumpled.

Two people awarded a contract to repair the structure, originally built in 1877, were among those arrested, Ashok Kumar Yadav said. He said there were likely to be more ar rests.

Local officials told Reuters that Oreva, a com pany which makes clocks and electrical items that was in charge of the bridge, had not informed the au thorities that it would be reopened last week after repairs, adding that no cer tificate that it was fit for public use had been issued. (Excerpt from Reuters)

factors when evaluating ap plications.

The policies are designed to boost the number of black and Hispanic students, and are intended to ensure mi nority groups are fairly rep resented among university student bodies.

But the question be

ing weighed by the court is whether they are discrim inatory and violate civ il rights laws. Its eventual decision could radically im pact the admissions plans of hundreds of institutions of higher education across the US.

The plaintiffs, a non-prof

it group called Students for Fair Admissions, accuse Harvard of discriminating against Asian American ap plicants in order to boost representation from other groups.

In the University of North Carolina case, the same group argues the col lege's use of race in its ad missions process violates the US Constitution as well as federal civil rights laws that cover public universi ties.

Institutions like Harvard say they consider an appli cant's race as one of several factors - including economic status and religious beliefin order to build classes that accurately represent the ra cial and ethnic diversity of the country. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Iran protests: Authorities charge 1000 people over Tehran unrest

About 1000 people in Tehran have been charged in connec tion with the anti-Govern ment protests that have engulfed Iran, the city's chief prosecutor said.

Suspects accused of "acts of sabotage", in cluding murdering secu rity guards and arson, face open mass trials this week.

Authorities have not said how many have been arrested nationwide, but rights activists have put the total at 14,000.

The announcement came as two teenage pro testers allegedly killed by security forces were bur ied in north-east Iran.

Kumar Daroftateh, 16,

was shot at close range at a demonstration in the city of Piranshahr and died in hospital on Sunday night, according to Kurdish human rights group Hengaw.

At his funeral on Monday, mourners shout ed slogans against the Government.

Kurdish activists said Kumar Daroftateh, 16, was shot by security forces at a protest in Piranshahr

To the south, in the city of Sanandaj, anoth er crowd gathered at the grave of Sarina Saedi, who was also 16.

The BBC's Kasra Naji said witnesses saw her fall to the ground during a protest a few days ago af

ter she was hit by birdshot fired by security forces.

However, our corre spondent added, Sarina's father was forced to an nounce on TV that her death was the result of a suicide in order to absolve security forces of blame.

Authorities have por trayed the protests as "ri ots" fomented by Iran's for eign enemies and warned that those who take part will face severe punish ment.

Iran's judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, vowed on Monday that judges would "deal with the cases of the re cent riots with accuracy and speed". (Excerpt from BBC News)

Commercial vessels including those that are part of the Black Sea grain deal wait to pass the Bosphorus Strait off the shores of Yenikapi in Istanbul, Turkey on Monday, October 31, 2022

The cases concern admissions at Harvard University (pictured) and the University of North Carolina

SUDOKU

Be secretive regarding your plans until you have everything in place.

will be eager to steal your thunder or take advantage of you. Work hard to make a positive change.

Do what you do best. Ignore what others are doing and concentrate on what you are trying to establish. Refuse to let someone throw you off course or play games with you.

Do what makes you happy. Indulging in a creative outlet or getting involved in a cause that concerns you will bring out your passion for making a difference. Change begins with you.

A responsible attitude will pay off and give you the fortitude and freedom to reach your goal. Don't let what others do or say get in the way. Finish what you start and live up to your promises.

Reach out to friends, relatives and peers, and you'll receive plenty of inter esting information. A partnership will face some discord but will do fine once responsibilities are decided upon.

Getting out and about will lift your spirits and encourage you to engage in activities that are creative or family-ori ented. A change of scenery will be en lightening, and educational pursuits are favored.

Problems with electronics and equip ment are apparent. Look for alternative ways to deal with any setback or incon venience you face. A backup plan will help you stay on track.

Stay focused. Don't take no for an an swer or give up on your dreams. Call on all your resources for information that will give you the edge you need when dealing with slippery characters.

Don't be too eager to implement change. Study situations thoroughly be fore you act. Look for a path that offers something unique or sparks your imag ination. A change at home will provide relief.

Watch what's happening around you. Don't let the changes others implement make you scramble to keep up. Time is on your side, so take a wait-and-see atti tude. You can roll with the punches.

Don't let anger take control. Look over your financial and business docu ments to confirm everything is updated. Go the extra mile to avoid complaints. An unexpected change will favor you.

Starc, Maxwell take down Ireland despite Tucker's resistance

The margin of victory will suggest the defend ing champions have got their campaign back on track. But it was a less-than-perfect performance from Australia as they beat Ireland by 42 runs to join New Zealand on five points at the top of Group 1. Their net-run rate remains below England's, which could come into play when semi-fi nal spots are decided.

After being asked to bat, Australia recovered from a slow start thanks to a half-cen tury stand between Aaron Finch and Mitchell Marsh. But Ireland made regular incisions and Australia only brought up their 100 in the 14th over. It was then that Marcus Stoinis and Finch lashed out, against a hapless Mark Adair, whose third over cost 26 runs, to put Australia within sight of 200. The pair shared 70 runs for the fourth wicket before Ireland hauled them back at the death to keep them under 180.

Importantly for Australia, Finch notched up his highest score in T20 Internationals since March 2021 and highest in T20 World Cups since 2014.

But he injured his hamstring in the process and was off the field from the seventh over of Ireland's reply. Tim David and Stoinis also picked up niggles, and there will be con cerns about how quickly they will heal up. Australia's next match is in four days' time, against Afghanistan.

In Finch's absence, Matthew Wade marshalled an attack which was outstanding upfront but took their foot off the gas later on. Ireland were 25 for 5 before Lorcan Tucker and Gareth Delany got togeth er for a sixth-wicket stand of 43. Tucker ensured Ireland were not dismissed for any re cord lows or bowled out for 104 or less (which would have put Australia's net run-rate high er than England's). He scored his fifth T20I half-century and was eventually strand ed on 71*. Ireland's semi-fi nal hopes are slim. They have one match left to play, against New Zealand on Friday.

Australia's scratchy start Australia were slow off the blocks against a disciplined ef fort from Ireland and took 14

balls before finding their first boundary. David Warner was tentative up front, followed a Josh Little delivery down leg, but did not connect, slashed at an Adair full toss, but only got it as far as cover and then pulled Barry McCarthy straight to short fine leg to de part for 3. He is yet to get go ing in this tournament, with 19 runs from three innings so far. Australia were 14 for 1 af ter three overs and added 24 runs in the next three overs to end the powerplay on 38 for 1 before Marsh smoked two six es off Fionn Hand. Marsh was looking good, but then didn't move his feet when he tried to cut McCarthy and edged it be hind. The Finch-Marsh part nership was worth 52 off six overs and laid a foundation for another strong stand later in the innings.

Adair's awful over Ireland had mostly kept a lid on Australia, with the run rate below eight an over until the end of the 14th. And then things went awry. When Adair stepped up to bowl the 15th, Finch and Stoinis tucked in. Stoinis slammed a drive down the ground off Adair's first ball, then lofted him to long-on – where McCarthy pulled off a great save – and then pulled Adair through short fine. Under pressure, Adair went on to deliver three successive wides before adjusting to back of a length, which Finch pulled for four. He finished with a full toss which Finch deposit ed over deep backward square to bring up his first T20I fifty of this tournament. In total, Adair bowled 11 balls in that over and conceded 26 runs.

Little goes big There's plenty of hype around left-armer Little, who will play in the SA20 in the southern hemisphere. He put in another impressive show ing against high-profile opposi tion. He started with two tight overs of mostly hard lengths in the powerplay and then struck in the middle and at the death to ensure Australia did not completely run away from Ireland. After his open ing burst, Little was brought back for the 11th over where he set up Glenn Maxwell and removed him for 13. Australia were 84 for 3 and not progress ing as smoothly as they may have hoped. He delivered the penultimate over, removing Stoinis and conceding only four runs to finish with 2 for 21 – Ireland's most economical on the night.

only to be bowled. Two balls later, Paul Stirling toe-ended Maxwell to mid-off. At the end of that over, Maxwell got Harry Tector to pull one straight to square leg. There was no let-up at the other end, where Starc replaced Cummins and blew the Irish middle order away. He bowled Curtis Campher and George Dockrell with al most identical deliveries that swung into them and beat the edge. Ireland were 25 for 5 in

side four overs and chances of another upset had all but evaporated.

Tucker shines alone

Throughout the tourna ment, Balbirnie has referred to Tucker as the batter who will lead Ireland's line-up into the future and, with his team in disarray, he showed why. He hit Cummins over midon for four, two balls after the fifth wicket fell. He was simi

larly dismissive of Starc and picked up on any small errors in length. Overpitched on the pads? Tucker flicked. Back of a length? He pulled. He took 11 runs off Starc's third over and 16 off his fourth and got more adventurous as his innings went on. Tucker scooped Starc over Wade, lofted him over the infield, and then over mid-off and in total scored 35 runs off the 18 balls Starc bowled to him. (ESPNcricinfo)

Pandemic forces postponement of 2023 World Relays in China

…impacts qualification system for World Championships

Glenn Maxwell 2.1-0-14-2

Mitchell Starc 4-1-43-2

Adam Zampa 4-0-19-2

Marcus Stoinis 1-0-6 -1

Australia on the attack Ireland got away with one when Josh Hazlewood flicked Andy Balbirnie's offstump, but the bails did not fall. But that was as lucky as they got. In the next over, Balbirne shuf fled across his stumps to flick Pat Cummins through fine leg

The World Athletics Council has decid ed to postpone the World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 23, scheduled for May 13-14, 2023, until April/May 2025 (exact dates to be confirmed).

Owing to the ongo ing pandemic conditions, this decision was tak en with the agreement of the Guangzhou Local Organising Committee (LOC) and the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA).

The decision to delay the World Athletics Relays im pacts the qualification sys tem for the relay events at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23. Therefore, the World Athletics Competition

Commission, upon approval of the Council, has revised the qualification system to include the top eight teams from the World Athletics Championships Oregon 22 and the top eight teams from the performance lists.

The philosophy is to rep licate a similar qualifica tion system by still qualify ing part of the field through direct competition and part through performance in the qualification period.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: “It is regrettable when we have to postpone an event. However, World Athletics and the Local Organising Committee are committed to the responsi ble planning and delivery of

the World Athletics Relays, which includes ensuring that athletes from all in ternational federations can participate in and enjoy an experience in a safe and healthy environment.

“I want to thank our colleagues at the Chinese Athletics Association and the LOC for their efforts and cooperation in resolv ing this situation and look forward to 2025 when our hosts are able to stage a spectacular World Athletics Relays.”

The host of the 2024 World Athletics Relays is set to be awarded by the World Athletics Council at their meeting in Rome, Italy, on November 30.

The World Athletics’ relay events in 2023 will be impacted

Australia celebrate

Aaron Finch goes big

Opening legend puts faith in Chanderpaul and Brathwaite

Cricket West Indies (CWI) lead selector Desmond Haynes believes the opening combination of Kraigg Brathwaite and the uncapped Tagenarine Chanderpaul can pay dividends for West Indies in Australia. The left-handed Chanderpaul has been included in the squad for the two-Test series starting this month following heavy scoring in First-Class cricket this year and is expected to complement Captain Brathwaite at the top of the order.

West Indies are expected to assemble in Australia on November 10 and will play a three-day game against an ACT/NSW XI at the Philip Oval in Canberra starting seven days later, before facing the Prime Minister’s XI in a four-day match beginning November 23 at Manuka Oval

CANOC Sports to elect leadership at 20th General Assembly

in the same city.

The first Test bowls off at Perth Stadium on November 30 with the second at Adelaide Oval – a day-night contest – scheduled to start December 8.

“I believe [they can work well together]. I think what you have to take into consideration too is with Tage, a young man, he’s got a very good technique to the new ball which is good,” said Haynes, himself one of Test cricket’s greatest openers. “He leaves alone very well. When you go to places like Australia, you don’t want to see the number three batsman coming in too early or the number four. So I think he and Kraigg would definitely complement each other, because at least they would be looking at what openers should do for a

team as well, which is build a foundation for the side so the guys coming in down the order would not get the new ball.”

Captain Brathwaite is renowned for his characteristic resolute approach to batting which has yielded nearly 5000 Test runs, including 10 hundreds. His powers of concentration were never more evident than in the second Test against England at Kensington Oval last March when he made a marathon 160 in the first innings and an unbeaten 56 in the second. He spent a combined 15 hours and 45 minutes, facing 673 balls, at the crease – a record for a West Indies batsman in a single Test.

Chanderpaul, the son of West Indies legend Shiv Chanderpaul, has scored

five First-Class hundreds; the last of those hundreds – 109 against Bangladesh A in St Lucia last August –required 337 balls in six and three-quarters hours at the crease. Haynes, who formed Test cricket’s most feared opening partnership with Sir Gordon Greenidge, said the upcoming series would be an excellent starting point for Chanderpaul’s career.

“I think it’s a good choice of picking the young man. [There is] no better place to start your cricket career than Australia where a lot of people believe if you do well against Australia then you’re rated,” Haynes explained. “It’s always been considered a tough place to play cricket and I think he has the ability to do it and I want to wish him all the best.” (Windies Cricket)

WI Women’s U19 set for camp, trials ahead of India tour

Jamaica’s Christopher Samuda and St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Keith Joseph are the two candidates for the presidency of the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) when the organisation meets for its 20th General Assembly November 4-5 at the Hyatt Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

The elections will serve to select the members of the CANOC Executive Committee for the quadrennial period, 2022-2026 following Day 1 of the ninth CANOC workshop.

Samuda, who is President of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) or Joseph, the General Secretary of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Olympic Committee, will replace the incumbent Brian Lewis of Trinidad and Tobago, who will be going up against Antigua and Barbuda’s Cliff Williams for the position of CANOC Secretary General.

Meantime, vying for the post of Vice President are John Abramson of the US Virgin Islands and Carson Ebanks of the Cayman

Islands.

Edith Cox of the Turks and Caicos is the only candidate for the post of Treasurer while Ytannia Wiggins of Barbados, Alain Soreze of Guadeloupe, Bruce Farara of Montserrat, and Alan Sharpe of Belize are in the running for executive members.

The nominations commission chaired by Sandra Osborne, SCM, KC, will supervise and manage the voting process to deliver secure results for all Executive Committee elections as well as decisions on selection of the host for the second edition of the Caribbean Games.

The Executive Report

on CANOC’s stewardship over the past four years, the report on the inaugural Caribbean Games and bid presentations for host of the 2025 Caribbean Games will be the main features on Day 2.

As part of the International Olympic Committee's commitment to the United Nations Sport for Climate Action (S4CA) Framework and the support to the Olympic Movement to protect our planet, CANOC will be attempting to minimise the use of paper at the workshop and general assembly, offering instead as many documents as possible in digital format.

(Sportsmax)

CricketWest Indies (CWI) on Monday announced the squad for the West Indies Women’s Under-19 training camp and trial matches to be played in November in Trinidad.

The 23 players will participate in two trial matches on Tuesday, November 11 and a third trial match on Wednesday, November 2.

Following these matches, they will have skills and fitness sessions from November 4-6 under the guidance of Head Coach Steve Liburd. This is part of the preparations for the upcoming tour of India from November 7-25 (match schedule to be announced at a later date).

This series on the subcontinent will form a crucial part of the team’s preparations for the inaugural International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023. The global event will feature 41 matches be played from January 14-29 in South Africa. The official warm-up matches will be from January 9 to January 11. The 16 participating teams will play in four groups in the preliminary round. West Indies have been drawn in Group C alongside New Zealand, Ireland, and Indonesia.

Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket, said: “The upcoming training camp in Trinidad for our Women's U19 squad will be an

important component of their preparation for their inaugural tour of India, which immediately follows, and also for the ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup, which takes place in South Africa in January. During the eight-day camp, the squad will continue its ongoing programme of technical, tactical, physical and mental preparation. The entire experience of the camp, and subsequent tour to India, will play a big role in the development of our next generation of international female cricketers who have had limited experience of playing outside the Region before now.” (Windies Cricket)

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Kraigg Brathwaite

Jamaica’s Christopher Samuda (left) and St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Keith Joseph will be vying for the CANOC presidency this weekend

Windward Islands Volcanoes beat Guyana Harpy Eagles in CG United Super50 clash

Led by Alick Athanze's maiden List A cen tury and a flashy half-century from West Indies batsman Johnson Charles, Windward Islands Volcanoes defeat ed Guyana Harpy Eagles by 28 runs in the opening fixture in Group A of the CG United Super50.

Playing at Queen's Park Oval, Trinidad, Volcanoes racked up 2964 in 50 overs, while Harpy Eagles reached 268 all out in 46.4 overs.

After his side was asked to bat first, the young left-handed Athanze scored his career-best 133. He was supported by the right-handed Charles, who scored 64 at the top of the order. Gudakesh Motie was the pick of the bowl ers with 2-57 in 10 overs.

In response, Harpy Eagles batsmen got starts,

but failed to score big on a good batting track.

Test selectee Tagenarine Chanderpaul came out

all guns blazing, but he scored only 48, missing out on a half-century. Tevin Imlach looked promising,

Guinness “Greatest of the Streets” Vryheid’s Lust champions Melanie-B

Anew champion will be crowned in the Guinness “Greatest of the Streets” East Coast Demerara zone on November 5, as Vryheid’s Lust defeated title holders Melanie-B in the quarterfinal round on Saturday at the Haslington Tarmac.

Vryheid’s Lust downed Melanie-B 2-0 on penalty kicks, after regulation time ended 1-1. Prior to the conclusion, Vryheid’s Lust took the lead in the fifth minute, while Melanie-B equalised in the seventh minute.

Vryheid’s Lust will now oppose Beterverwagting (BV)-A, after the latter defeated Church Yard 2-1. Delroy Deen and Ralph Pollard scored in the third and 11th minute respectively. For the losers, Rashleigh Morrison scored in the sixth minute.

On the other hand, Liliendaal Hustlers and Non Pareil will compete in the second semi-final matchup. Liliendaal Hustlers edged Old School 1-0 on penalty kicks, after regulation time ended 0-0.

Non Pareil defeated Victoria Eagles 3-2, after overcoming a 0-2 deficit. Andrew Murray netted in the ninth minute, alongside a “Guinness Goal” (GG) [a goal scored in the final three minutes of normal and regulation time which counts as two] in the 18th minute. For the losers, Sherwin Skeete scored in the fourth and seventh minutes. The semi-final section and eventual final will be staged on November 5 at the same venue.

Meanwhile, Portmore will faceoff with Team Cruel, and Buxton will battle Uprising in the Plate division semi-final round, following quarterfinal wins. Portmore defeated Belfield 3-0. Colin Jones recorded a GG in the 18th minute, while Denzel Junior netted in the eighth minute.

Team Cruel downed Bare Root 4-3. Jerome Harrigon bagged a double in the sixth and 16th minutes, while Ian Dooker and Jemar Harrigon netted in the fifth and 15th minutes respectively. For

the losers, Dequan France scored in the ninth minute as well as tallied a GG in the 19th minute.

On the other hand, Buxton Diamond downed Paradise 2-1

penalty kicks, after regulation time ended 1-1. Prior to the conclusion, Teshawn Gordon scored for Paradise in the sixth minute, while Alister Thomas equalised in the 13th minute. Uprising defeated Haslington 2-0. Dante McAulay registered a (GG) in the 19th minute.

but he made 36. Shadrack Descarte the right-arm seamer on debut, snatched 3-41 in a collective bowl

b Descarte 5 Gudakesh Motie not out 31

Veerasammy Permaul b Greaves 28 Total (10 wickets, 46.4) (6 extras) 268 44/1 (6.2) Anthony Bramble 66/2 (10.5) Shimron Hetmyer 80/3 (13.6) Tagenarine Chanderpaul 117/4 (24.6) Leon Johnson 165/5 (31.5) Sherfane Rutherford 181/6 (34.4) Sherfane Rutherford 182/7 (35.1) Romario Shepherd 194/8 (37.4) Clinton Pestano 220/9 (40.1) Kevin Sinclair 268/10 (46.4) Veerasammy Permaul

Bowling

Preston McSween (8-0-45-1)

Ryan John (8-0-54-2)

Justin Greaves (7.4-0-50-1)

Kenneth Dember (10-1-46-2)

Shadrack Descarte (8-0-41-3) Kavem Hodge (5-0-31-1)

Thrillers witnessed as women’s futsal gets underway

…Sophia, Gold is Money, Back Circle among male winners

The highly-anticipated MVP Sports/Petra Organisation female futsal tournament got off without a hitch last Saturday evening at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue.

The likes of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Guyana Police Force (GPF), Fruta Conquerors and Avocado Ballers stamped their authority on the first night of the group stage.

Game 1 witnessed a stiff rivalry between Fruta Conquerors and Tiger Bay. After a fairly-quiet first half, Fruta Conquerors’ Sandra Johnson netted the first goal of the tournament in the 10th and her second in the 13th, for Fruta’s 2-0 victory.

That game was followed by one featuring a lethal secondhalf performance from the GDF Ladies, which led to their 5-1 win over Herstelling.

Odessa Romes found the back of the net first for GDF in the 1st minute, while Herstelling’s Jasmine Persaud equalised in the 5th. Another goal was not witnessed until the second half, when Anastacia Horshan (14th) and Abiola Haywood (20th) netted one each, while Kendra Williams (14th, 17th) added a brace to GDF’s tally.

The GPF women found themselves in a difficult position early on in their clash with GT Panthers’ women.

Tiandi Smith’s 5th minute goal for Police was immediately followed by a strike from GT Panthers’ Glendy Lewis in the 6th. Police finally found the icebreaker in the 20th, off the boots of Alleia Allyene for the 2-1 win.

The final women’s game of the night was a tense one between Santos FC and Avocado Ballers. Alicia Headly struck in the 10th minute for Avocado Ballers, and it became the only goal of the game, as they upset Santos.

In the men’s tournament, Stabroek Ballers, Sophia, Future Stars, Gold is Money and Back Circle added wins to their campaigns, while Sparta Boss and Bent Street held each other to a 3-3 draw, also on Saturday last.

Goals from Dacosta Abyage (4th, 11th) and Dorwin George (20th) accounted for Stabroek Ballers’ victory over Team Cruel, 3-1. Neron Barrow netted Team Cruel’s consolation goal in the 1st minute.

Although Vengy FC looked better than their first outing in the group stage, Sophia handed them a thrashing in the 7-3 game. Shemar Koulen’s hattrick in the 5th, 14th and 15th minutes laid the foundation for Sophia. Lennox Young netted twice in the 13th and 17th, and Dequan Sealey and Shemroy Arthur added one apiece in the 20th and 18th for their seven.

Angel Villarva (4th), Jesus Periera (8th) and Edgardo Herrera (15th) shared the spoils for Vengy.

Future Stars edged Tiger Bay, in a contest that finished 4-3.

Jamal Cozier (3rd, 6th) gave Future Stars a solid start, but one each from Orin More (4th) and Akil Plass (9th), and an own goal in the 16th put them down by one goal. Keron Solomon’s late brace in the 17th and 20th minutes, saved the day for Future Stars.

Gold is Money eased past Mocha Family 5-1. Jamal Pedro opened the scoring in the 3rd minute, while Dextroy Adams added the first of his two in the 4th and Darren Benjamin struck in the seventh. Dorville Stewart etched Mocha’s lone reply in the 10th, but one from Michael Ballack in the 7th and another from Adams in the 14th, put a win far out of Mocha’s reach.

Back Circle also enjoyed an easy victory over Campbellville 4-1. Simeon Moore led the way for Back Circle with a triple in the 4th, 11th and 12th minutes.

Stephan McLaren was their other scorer, finding the back of the net in the 16th.

Meanwhile, Marlon Gentle was Campbellville’s lone scorer in the 9th.

Two powerhouses met for the final game of the night and it resulted in a 3-3 draw. Neither Sparta Boss or Bent Street could find the deciding goal in their clash. Deon Alfred had nis name on the scoresheet for Bent Street as early as two seconds into game time, and Sparta’s reply came off the boots of Purnell Schultz in the 3rd. Ryan Hackett added another for Sparta in the 8th, while Schultz scored again in the 13th, but that was the end of their scoring.

Colin Nelson netted a brace in the 13th and 17th minutes, but could not find another to guarantee Bent Street a win.

ing effort. Harpy Eagles will be in action against T&T Red Force on Wednesday,

November 2 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago from 14:00h.

Alick Athanze bats during his century for Volcanoes

A look at the game between GDF (green and red) and Herstelling