Guyana Times - Tuesday, October 17, 2023

President Ali P9 attending inaugural Canada-Caricom Summit in Ottawa

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 5525

THE BEACON OF TRUTH TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023

Works on new US$260M Demerara bridge moving swiftly – PS …temporary bridges being set up to install permanent structure Page 3

Troy Resources exits Guyana with $2.6B in royalties owed …GGMC confirms company’s disappearing act

PRICE $100 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

PPP supports twostate solution to Israeli-Palestinian P7 conflict …calls for civilians on both sides to be protected

Fisherman P8 handed 2 life sentences for 2011 murders

See story on page 15

Murder of elderly couple

3 accused acquitted due to insufficient evidence P12

Illegal electrical connection P11 causes fire at Bourda Market

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill examining works during a site inspection at the western side of the Grove, East Bank Demerara main access road, which were scheduled to be completed by Monday evening (Public Works Ministry photos)

Husband Guyana kills wife pushing after being for sustainable accused of sleeping Guyanese shot dead in Suriname while water usage with “Spanish girl” parting fight Sophia man who set wife on …“please forgive me” fire jailed for 19 years – man to family World Food Day

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

World Food Day

Guyana pushing for sustainable water usage A

griculture accounts for some 72 per cent of global freshwater withdrawals, and amid Guyana’s mission to achieve food security by ramping up its agricultural production, the need for sustainable water usage is now more important than ever.

This point was emphasised on Monday by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha during an event hosted by the Agriculture Ministry and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in observance of World Food Day, which is being celebrated under the theme “Water is Life; Water is Food. Leave no one Behind.”

Recognising that there is a vital connection between water, food security and sustainable agriculture, Mustapha reminded that freshwater is not infinite and as such, requires sustainable management.

He explained that Guyana has been embarking on a number of initiatives aimed at sustainable water use and management in the agriculture sector.

“In light of the reduced rainfall and possibility of water scarcity, the Ministry of Agriculture has been proactive in dealing with the potential challenges for ag-

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha

riculture and our water resources. The Ministry has undertaken several initiatives to promote sustainable water use and management for agriculture. These initiatives aim to improve irrigation practices and water efficiency and ensure the long-term viability of the agriculture sector,” the Agriculture Minister outlined.

Drip irrigation

“We’re trying to conserve water but at the same time, make agriculture more simple and more modern…,” Mustapha further expressed as he highlighted efforts to promote the drip irrigation system in local agricultural practices.

“…these are systems that reduce water wastage by delivering water directly to the root of the crops,” he explained.

Currently in Guyana, this practice is most popularly being employed in shade houses through the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI).

According to the FAO, drip irrigation involves dripping water onto the soil at very low rates (2-20 litres/ hour) from a system of small diameter plastic pipes fitted with outlets called emitters or drippers. Water is applied close to plants so that only part of the soil in which the roots grow is wetted, unlike surface and sprinkler irrigation, which involves wetting the whole soil profile.

“Drip irrigation is most suitable for row crops (vegetables, soft fruit), tree and vine crops where one or more emitters can be provided for each plant. Generally, only high value crops are considered because of the high capital costs of installing a drip system,” the FAO has also outlined.

Massive projects

Another initiative embarked upon by the Ministry of Agriculture to promote sustainable water use and management is encouraging

rainfall harvesting among farmers. “…to capture and store rainfall water for agriculture purposes,” Mustapha explained.

Meanwhile, revealing that for the year so far, the Government has invested some $26 billion in upgrading the drainage and irrigation systems across the country, Mustapha said there are more massive projects in the pipeline, all aimed at improving drainage and irrigation countrywide.

“Pump stations alone, we got close to about twelve pump stations are being built or were built already; we have big canals, large canals going up; we have sluices going up; and other infrastructures,” he explained.

“For example, in the Pomeroon alone, we’ve expended close to $500 million in doing block drainage for the farmers in the Pomeroon so these are massive D&I projects that we are doing…places like Black Bush Polder, Canals Polder, we did a conservancy which Region 10 never had before…so these are massive D&I projects that I’m talking about.”

Moreover, he said the Government is working on improving its hydrological observational network to

provide data to support services required for sound water management.

Mustapha emphasised that the Government will continue to work with its various developmental partners in achieving its goals regarding sustainable water use and management.

Some of these partners include the FAO, the InterAmerican Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank.

But according to Mustapha, the responsibility of sustainable water us-

age rests with everyone.

“All of us have that responsibility, we have to make that contribution in ensuring that we safeguard this precious resource,” he said.

“Guyana’s journey towards sustainable agriculture is closely intertwined with our commitment to preserving our environment.

Our rivers and our fertile lands are not just resources, but are treasures that underpin our agricultural and food system. While fostering sustainable access to water resources has been addressed in our national policies, every individual also has the responsibility to practicing good management of our water resources in our everyday lives.” (G11)

Sophia man arraigned for killing father of 2

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Murder accused: Dillon Frank

Dead: Mark Hilliman

illon Frank called “Buggas” and “Rasta Man”, a 28-year-old of South Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was on Monday arraigned for the murder of Mark Hilliman, a father of two and a labourer.

Frank appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Chief Magistrate (ag) Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus, who read the indictable charge to him.

The accused was not required to enter a plea and was remanded to prison.

The case has been adjourned until November 21.

Frank was represented by attorney Patrice Henry.

Reports are that Hilliman, 25, of La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD), was stabbed at about 22:00h on October 7, at Longden and Croal Streets, Georgetown.

According to the Police, investigations have revealed that the victim’s 28-year-old reputed wife, who is employed at a fast-food outlet on Water Street, was on duty when Frank, who is not known

to her, went into the establishment and was interfering with her.

During the said time, Hilliman went into the fast-food outlet to visit his reputed wife, and after he observed what was happening, he told Frank to desist from “interfering” with his partner.

As a result, a heated argument occurred between them. They were both armed with knives.

They then left the fastfood outlet, heading east between Longden and Croal Streets, and Frank reportedly stabbed the victim in his left side chest with the knife.

Police said that Hilliman walked a short distance and fell to the ground, while Frank made good his escape on foot in a southern direction with the knife.

The injured man was picked up by public-spirited citizens and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Frank was subsequently arrested for the fatal stabbing on October 12.

(G1)

NEWS

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Tuesday, Oct 17 – 04:00h – 05:30h and Wednesday, Oct 18 – 04:00h – 05:30h.

Works on new US$260M Demerara bridge moving swiftly – PS

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Tuesday, Oct 17 – 05:30h – 07:00h and Wednesday, Oct 18 – 06:05h – 07:35h.

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BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY There will be sunshine and light rain showers during the day. Expect clear skies at night.

Temperatures should range between 23 degrees Celsius and 33 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Easterly to East North-Easterly between 1.34 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 16:53h reaching a maximum height of 2.75 metres.

Low Tide: 11:31h and 23:54h reaching minimum heights of 0.59 metre and 0.44 metre.

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

COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Crude Oil

$89.74/barrel

+0.10

Rough Rice London Sugar

$284.49/ton $723.30/ton

-0.13 0.00

Live Spot Gold Bid/Ask Low/High Change

Change %

USD Per Ounce $1916.70 $1908.40 -3.00

$1917.70 $1925.50 -0.16

…temporary bridges being set up to install permanent structure orks on the new Demerara River bridge are ongoing, with the contractor on the project, China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) Limited, in the process of setting up temporary bridges to aid in constructing the US$260 million bridge.

During Monday’s session of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Ministry of Public Works responded to findings in the Auditor General’s report of 2019. The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Vladim Persaud, was also questioned by the committee on the status of the new Demerara River bridge.

The US$260 million contract for the bridge was signed in May of last year and the contract has a twoyear implementation period. Persaud explained that temporary bridges are being installed, as part of preparations for installing the permanent structure.

“Works are moving apace on the new Demerara Harbour Bridge crossing. As it is now, the company is setting forth or putting in place what is called their temporary work bridges, that will be used for the setting up and piling system that has to go in place. So, they’re at that point. Additionally, the company already has locations set up at the West Bank and also the East Bank in terms of a landing facility and operational yard,” Persaud said.

Persaud explained that the temporary bridges composed of steel pilings are being imported from China.

He noted that as they arrive,

The signing of the contract for the new bridge last year. Public Works Ministry PS Vladim Persaud is seated on the left

the installation will be done and in fact, some are already in place. Meanwhile, Persaud explained the landing positions of the bridge.

“It’s expected to land over the East Bank corridor, which is the bridge approach… approximately near to where Windsor (Estates), around that length,” the Permanent Secretary further explained to the PAC. The new Demerara bridge will replace the current structure across the river, which has exceeded its lifespan by some 40 years. It is expected that the new bridge will be a fourlane, fixed span bridge with a lifespan of approximately 100 years.

The contractors are part of a joint venture led

by China Railway and Construction Corporation Limited to construct the new bridge, which will land aback Nandy Park on the East Bank of Demerara and at La Grange, West Bank Demerara.

Back in 2022, $21.1 billion was allocated towards work on the bridge.

The China Railway and Construction Corporation (International) Limitedled joint venture outbid four other pre-qualified international companies that submitted proposals for the project. In the months prior to the contract being awarded, the Guyana Government, through a team of specialists – legal and engineering – was in negotiations with the Chinese company to finalise the terms of the contract.

The new bridge will be a fixed 2.65-kilometre, four-lane, high-span, cable-stayed structure across the Demerara River, with the width of the driving surface being about 23.6 metres.

The bridge, which features a bicycle lane, will bring an end to closures to vehicular traffic with a 50-metre fixed high-span to cater for the free flow of vessels uninterrupted. The river will be dredged along a 13.5-kilometre stretch to accommodate large vessels.

This new bridge will re-

place the ageing floating Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB), which has outlived its lifespan by several decades. At 1.25 miles (2.01km), the current Demerara Harbour Bridge is a strategic link between the East and West Banks of Demerara, facilitating the daily movement of thousands of vehicles, people, and cargo.

Specifically, it will provide better connectivity to the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) road, the Diamondto-Ogle bypass road on the eastern side of the river, as well as the West Bank of Demerara (WBD) roads, including the Parika-toSchoonord road on the western side of the river.

Back in February 2023, Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal had met with residents of Peters Hall on the EBD to begin the process of relocating 20 structures in the path of the alignment.

With $5.2 billion set aside in this year’s budget to advance works on the new Demerara River bridge, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill had revealed earlier this year that all the persons who were residing along the pathway of this massive infrastructural development have agreed to relocate without any resistance.

In January, Mohamed’s Enterprise had announced that it had gifted the Government its US$3 million prime waterfront property at Providence, EBD, to facilitate the construction of the new Demerara River crossing.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023

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Parents and children’s development

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very year, the United Nations General Assembly observes Global Day of Parents, a day set aside to honour parents throughout the world.

In Guyana, it is no different, there are a lot of parents who should be thanked for their unwavering commitment and non-ending sacrifice towards the good upbringing and development of their children.

While there are a lot of children who have to be thankful in Guyana, there are many who have been left abandoned, neglected and forgotten. Another militating factor which plagues not only Guyana but the Caribbean is the absent role of the father, the flip side of which invariably leads to increased cases of single-parent mothers.

These dynamics, which some sociologists argue is a product of years of social and cultural degradation of the psyche of the slaves and indentured labourers at the hands of colonial masters, so that they can effectively maintain control, have left an indelible mark on the characterisation of our people.

While there is no recent local statistics to go by, which is an indictment on our research and analytical institutions, the Guyana Bureau of Standards, in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has outlined in its Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) sometime ago, that “almost one third (29 per cent) of all children under five years are living in a household without their biological father. One in three children (30 per cent) comes from the poorest quintile, whereas one in eight (13 per cent) comes from the richest quintile.” Taking into consideration the prevalent cases of child neglect and proliferation of single mothers, it can be rationally construed that after 10 years, that figure has increased.

According to the United Nations “many men have difficulty assuming the responsibilities of fatherhood, often with damaging consequences to families, and inevitably, society at large. Some fathers inflict domestic violence or even sexual abuse, devastating families and creating profound physical and emotional scars in children. Others abandon their families outright and fail to provide support. Researchers continue to explore how the presence or absence of fathers can affect children, in areas such as school achievement and crime.”

Sadly, too many children in Guyana are left without the critical nurturing support of a wholesome family unit during the most crucial years of their upbringing, leading them down a narrow path of anger and self-denigration.

The spin-off effects of which leaves the young ones susceptible to negative influences such as gang-related crimes, drug abuse and from a sociological perspective, the perpetuation of the deserting cycle as the child becomes an adult.

There is no denying in recent years the increase in crimes being carried out by juveniles, whether they were the masterminds is yet to be determined, but what is clear is that egregious acts of murders and robberies are being committed by children who come across as unsympathetic and distanced when caught or confronted.

According to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) there are factors that may reduce the onset of risky behaviour in delinquent juveniles; these are seen as protective factors and include “close emotional ties with at least one adult; a sense of safety and belonging to an educational institution” which will impart strong social skills; ability to solve problems, and a sense of purpose and independence.

The root of the problem, however, has to be addressed at the family level. Through the process of educating, we need to propel a greater awareness of just how important of a role the parents play within the construct of the family and the influence this has on the positive developmental trajectory of the child.

Students visiting booths at the World Food Day Exhibition and Open Day at the Georgetown Cricket Club Ground on Monday. The event was hosted by the Agriculture Ministry in collaboration with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) (Agriculture Ministry photos)

With this election victory, Poland is smiling again – and that’s good for all of Europe

By Timothy Garton Ash

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o be in Poland on Sunday night was to experience a rare moment of political joy. Young voters queued until the early hours to see off the xenophobic, nationalist populists who have been dragging their country backwards; to prove that even an unfair election can be won against the odds; and to turn Poland towards a modern European future. If you were already in the queue at 9pm, when polls closed, you were allowed to wait to vote. Some of the queues were very long, so neighbours brought hot drinks to sustain people in the cold. Interviewed at about 1am on Monday, one young man in Wroc?aw said he had to hang in there, because this was the most important election since 1989.

I walked to a Warsaw polling station on election day with the same old friends whom I had accompanied to that historic vote on June 4, 1989. With delight, they each chose one name from the long list of parliamentary candidates. With equal delight, they refused even to take the ballot paper for the simultaneous referendum, which – with its ludicrously biased questions about things like an alleged “forced relocation mechanism” for illegal immigrants, supposedly “imposed by the European bureaucracy” – was effectively election propaganda for the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS). But my friends and I were full of nervous anticipation.

Anna told me that whereas in 1989 her dominant emotion had been hope, now it was fear.

Her daughter, who was just seven in 1989, worried what more the ruling party could do to poison young minds and ruin her own seven-year-old daughter’s education should they win another term. But then, starting with the first exit polls at 9pm, our

foreboding turned to relief and then joy.

Despite being only semi-free, that 1989 election opened the door to democracy in Poland. And despite being unfair in multiple ways, not least in the crude, mendacious propaganda pumped out by all State-controlled media, this one should reverse Poland’s slide towards the kind of electoral authoritarianism practised by Viktor Orbán in Hungary.

The record turnout, at nearly 74 p er cent on the current count, was 10 per cent higher than in 1989. Reversing a continent-wide trend, first estimates suggest that voters under 29 turned out in larger numbers than those over 60. It seems young Poles finally understood that their future was at stake. Whatever happens next, this was a great democratic moment. The people spoke and said they wanted a different government.

Unless current projections are badly wrong, the democratic Opposition parties will have a clear parliamentary majority over PiS and its potential partner, the wild Konfederacja party, which had threatened to pick up a significant youth vote. Why did the Opposition win? We will need more time to understand this fully, and there always remains a fog of glorious mystery around how and why millions of individual people ultimately decide to vote one way rather than another.

Nonetheless, we can see that many voters simply got fed up with the corrupt, petty, backwardlooking, obscurantist rule of the party led by the 74-year-old Jaros?aw Kaczy?ski, who is a kind of one-man walking anthology of resentment.

Some were alarmed by Opposition warnings that the anti-Brussels course of PiS might lead to Polexit. As well as the increased youth vote, for the first time ever more women than men voted in this election. Part of their

motivation seems to have been the sight of a reactionary, patriarchal party imposing one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in Europe.

More than 600,000 Poles abroad registered to vote, although their impact on the actual result will be (unfairly) marginal.

Huge credit must go to Donald Tusk, the leader of the largest Opposition list, the Civic Coalition, which has at its core the Civic Platform party that he co-founded in the early 2000s. I must confess I was sceptical about the return to the frontline of Polish politics of the 66-year-old former President of the European Council. It felt a bit like Tony Blair resuming the leadership of the British Labour party – and, as with Blair, there are a lot of people who can’t stand Tusk. But he fought his way through a barrage of poisonous abuse, ludicrously accusing him of being the German candidate, and this victory is in significant measure his.

I came to Warsaw directly from Istanbul, where my liberal democratic friends are in deep depression after a united Opposition failed to defeat President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an in an election earlier this year. In spring 2022, I watched a united Opposition in Hungary go down badly against Orbán. In Poland, my friends and I were also urging the Opposition to unite, which it failed to do. Yet it may turn out that the fact there were three different Opposition lists to choose from – Tusk’s Civic Coalition, the Third Way (combining two parties broadly acceptable to liberal Roman Catholic voters) and the New Left – actually ended up maximising the Opposition vote.

It’s still early days. Resentmentfilled Kaczy?ski may yet have a few dirty tricks up his sleeve.

President Andrzej Duda will almost certainly give him the first chance of forming a government, so it could take months before power finally changes hands. Such

a diverse Opposition coalition may be fractious in Government (think Germany).

Then there will be the huge challenge of reversing PiS’s creeping State capture. I just learned a new Polish word: depisyzacja, that is, dePiSisation, by analogy with decommunisation.

But taking the PiS out of the Polish state will be a tough task. It means restoring the independence of the courts, turning State media into proper public service media, undoing deep political penetration of the civil service and Stateowned enterprises, redrawing constituency boundaries so they reflect population changes, and more. All this while Duda still has extensive veto powers. Restored EU funding will help, but no one knows the true condition of Poland’s public finances and there’s a war grinding on next door in Ukraine.

PiS remains the party that won the single largest share of the vote. In big cities, nearly half the votes went to Opposition parties and less than a quarter to PiS, but in the countryside it was the other way round. Civic Platform must show it has learned from its mistakes in the 2000s and respect the concerns of a poorer, more conservative, Roman Catholic, rural and small-town Poland. And the Opposition needs to avoid the temptation simply to take revenge – a temptation wonderfully depicted in Andrzej Wajda’s film of the classic 19th-century Polish comedy Zemsta (Revenge), which sees two Poles who share a castle furiously trying to do each other down.

But sufficient unto the day are the evils thereof. I noticed this morning that the presenters on the independent, Oppositionsupporting TV channel TVN can hardly stop smiling – and, frankly, nor can I. Poland’s populist nightmare is almost over and all of Europe will benefit as a result. (The Guardian)

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The impact of ring-fencing on Stabroek Block project Dear Editor, I have noted that the Opposition Leader’s (OL) Economic Advisor, Elson Low and Glenn Lall have totally misrepresented―and more so misunderstood a statement the Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo made at his last press conference.

The Vice President was responding to a question posed by Glenn Lall’s reporter on ring-fencing. Then, Elson Low reacted by stating in the media that the Vice President should prove ring-fencing will hamper future revenues and that some study should be done in that regard. Now, if Elson Low was a real economist, he would not have made such a statement, because he would understand what the Vice President means in view of the “time value of money” for example, and he would know that there is no need for a study, instead what is needed is a proper economic and financial analysis. As the economic advisor to the OL, this is the type of work he should be doing, and not only to advise the OL, but to inform the entire nation of their alternative policies, together with the potential implications of same.

Editor, the concept of ring-fencing in the oil and gas fiscal framework has often been misunderstood and misrepresented. To date, none of the so-called experts have utilised their expertise to demonstrate by way of analysis the impact of ring-fencing versus the absence of ring-fencing, specifically in relation to the Stabroek Block projects. In this regard, the absence of ring-fencing in the Stabroek Block is actually an incentive for the Stabroek Block investors, designed to sustain the rapid pace of development of the projects―that is, to extract as early as possible, the proven reserves to date. This is the case especially since it allows for the financing of future projects from the operating cash flows, which is a cheaper source of financing than raising

Table 1: Summary of the author’s analysis

capital on the financial markets, inter alia, debt and equity instruments.

Discussion and analysis of the Stabroek Block Project Economics Model

The Stabroek Block comprised an area of an estimated 26,806 km2 (10.848 million hectares/26.806 million acres) offshore Guyana. The proven reserves to date after almost 24 years of ongoing exploration activities since 1999 is an estimated 11 billion/ bbls. The Production Development Area (PDA) comprising all of the discoveries so far accounts for 841 km2 or 3.13% of the total area size of the Stabroek Block. These reserves are developed in phases through different projects such as Liza-1, Liza-2, Payara, Yellowtail and Whiptail etc. The operator, ExxonMobil Guyana, is aiming to have a total of ten (10) float-

ing production, storage and offloading (FPSOs) vessels by 2030.

Two FPSOs are currently producing at a rate of over 300,000/bbls/ day, the third is expected by the end of 2023, the fourth is expected in 2024, and the fifth is expected to commence production in 2025, bringing the total daily production to over 800,000 bbls/day. By 2030, the total daily production is estimated to be in the region of 1.2 MMbbls/day.

The analysis shown in scenario (1) below is based on the actual situation whereby there is no ring-fencing provision in the Stabroek Block. In this scenario, the absence of the ring-fencing provision simply means that revenues that can be earned in the short term, is foregone to be earned later in the future, and not necessarily an absolute loss of revenue.

Notwithstanding, the critical point to note is how far into the future

that actually matters because this is what will determine the impact in terms of the extent to which there is likely to be a loss of value as opposed to the loss of actual revenue provided that all other things being equal. With this in mind, it is important to understand what the trade-offs and other considerations are, and whether the current policy of the government will in fact result in the maximum benefit for the country. As such, the discussions that follow hereunder seeks to address these concerns.

In the first scenario as demonstrated above, the actual situation is considered. The analysis shows that at the current pace of development and all other things being equal, the invested capital will be fully recovered by 2035.

Consequently, the government’s take will increase from 14.5% to 45%, giving rise to an annual revenue of approximately $13.457 billion.

However, considering the time value of money, earning US$13.457 billion twelve (12) years from now is worth the same as US$6.7 billion in today’s money (Present Value/PV).

In the second scenario, the implication of ring-fencing in the Stabroek Block is such that the pace at which the development is currently taking place will be delayed by at least two-three years between each project. In other words, owing to the effect on the free cash flow available to the oil companies to the extent where it would be significantly reduced, the pace of future developments will be hindered. As a consequence, rather than having ten-FPSOs producing 1.2MMbbls by 2030, the other five FPSOs will take another fifteen years to develop into the production stage.

Henceforth, all other things being equal, effectively the ring-fencing provision is highly likely to r e s u l t

GECOM must be fully prepared for 2025 elections Dear Editor, The holding of National and Regional Elections is due for the year 2025. The numerous court matters involving serious rigging of the 2020 Elections are still outstanding.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), former Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield along with several senior GECOM staff such as Roxanne Myers and Region 4 Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo and several others are before the Court for serious allegations of fraud. While senior PNC Member of Parliament Volda Lawrence and PNC member Carol Joseph are also before the Court for fraud related matter.

The election fraud cases are presently before a Magistrate and Special Prosecutor Darshan Ramdhani is fully prepared with some 80 witnesses and 140 statements to be presented before the court.

Some GECOM staff were the culprits who are the reasons why the 2020 Elections were held up for five long months. In 2015 the election petition that the PPP/C took to the court never saw the light of the day. However, in 2020 those attempting to rig were confronted by the international and local observers.

The blatant efforts to steal the Government was glaring and this must never happen again.

The recent resolution that was sent to the Guyana Elections Commission for the inclusion of digital capture of ‘registrants’, biometric characteristics, at its permanent registration offices and biometric system at the place of poll must not be used as an effort to delay the elections.

The known shenanigans at the Commission are expected to raise many objections and as usual try their best to delay the elections. Numerous issues will be raised by the known de-tractors who are

afraid the face the polls.

Guyanese are immune to the resistance of the PNC to face the polls. However, a united people will triumph.

GECOM is in the process of preparation for the next National and Regional

Elections and all systems must be put in place for the smooth holding of those elections.

Sincerely, Neil Kumar

in production increasing to 1.2 MMbbls not until 2050 as opposed to 2030, with the invested capital being fully recovered by 2055 instead of 2035, almost 32 years later as opposed to 12 years later in the first [actual situation] scenario. Additionally, in the second scenario, government’s revenue is an estimated US$5.6 billion annually by 2035 with a present value of US$2.8 billion as opposed to US$13.5 billion with a present value of US$6.7 billion in the first scenario. Furthermore, when production peaks at 1.2 MMbbls under the second scenario in 2055 (3-decades from now) the annual revenue of US$13.5 billion [then] will have a present value of US$2.092 billion; effectively translating to a loss of value of US$4.61 billion, when taking into account the time value of money 12-years from now into the future versus 32-years from now into the future.

This analysis proves that the current policy of the government in terms of the Stabroek Block development will derive the maximum benefit for the country after considering all the varying factors and different scenarios above.

Finally, when the Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo spoke of the possibility of losing into the future, owing to ring-fencing [with his use of] proverbial terminologies, what he actually meant is exactly what I have demonstrated in the foregoing analysis. Henceforth, it is important that one understands the complexities of the issue, the varying degree of impact under different scenarios, and under which scenario would ultimately derive the maximum benefits for the country within the shortest possible timeframe.

Yours respectfully, Joel Bhagwandin

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:30 10:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:05 13:35 14:00 14:30 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00

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6

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023

Foundation ◄

Page

Test Questions Monday’s answers 6) Neither

9) C

7) C

10) B

8) A

By Norman Crane

In this fun and easy science experiment, we’re going to determine which water leaks faster, hot or cold water.

NB: Adult supervision is required.

Materials:

Two paper cups Straight pin Two small glasses Ice cubes Hot water

Instructions:

Set the glasses on a table.

Poke a small hole in the centre of the bottom of each paper cup.

Fill one paper cup with cold water and ice cubes. Place the paper cup filled with cold water on top of one of the small glasses.

Fill the other paper cup with hot water. Set the paper cup filled with hot water on top of the other small glass.

Observe which cup leaks faster.

How it works:

The hot-water molecules are more active and fall through the hole easier. The cold-water molecules are moving much slower and do not fall through the hole as easy.

Make this a science project:

Try adding salt to the water. Try creating a larger but equal sized hole in each cup. (sciencefun.org)

I hold the tool. I am the blade. I drive myself into the fertile ground. I dig potatoes out. They were buried alive, but in darkness they thrive.

Now the old pig will feast. When he grows fat I will slay him to feed me and kin. I don’t like killing but when necessary it’s not a sin.

I shall live another year, God willing.

I have long been on the land. I am old but my sun is not yet setting in the sky. When I was a child I was told once by my father you become earth when you die.

If so, I hope my children carve my chest with blade. I hope I’ll yield a fruitful harvest.

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

7

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

PPP supports two-state solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict …calls for civilians on both sides to be protected

A

s the IsraeliPalestinian conflict continues to intensify, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is calling for a two-state solution, in keeping with the United Nations resolution 242.

In a statement issued on Monday, the PPP – which forms the governing administration of Guyana – reminded that historically, it has stood in support of a twostate resolution to the conflict and noted that events of this last week have catapulted this issue onto the forefront of the global agenda once again, and require more urgent, determined, sustained, and unequivocal efforts by the UN and global leaders to realise this resolution.

The fighting between Israel and Hamas, which launched a surprise attack two Saturdays ago, is the latest in seven decades of war and conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

“Hamas’ attack on Israeli territory, and the subsequent Israeli aerial bombardment, as well as the consequential cutting off of all access to fuel, electricity, water, and medicine to the people of Gaza, have brought the status of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to its lowest levels in several decades,” the PPP has noted.

The party, in its statement, documented that Hamas’ attack on Israel has resulted in the loss of

A Palestinian boy sits on the rubble of his building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip on Monday

over 1400 lives, including that of women and children while the Israeli bombardment of Gaza has resulted in the deaths of over 2600 Palestinians, many of whom are children and women.

“This violence against innocent civilians, on both sides, is unacceptable and the PPP unequivocally condemns it. Further, the Israeli air raids on Gaza have also resulted in the indiscriminate destruction of essential infrastructure, including UN centres, hospitals, and schools – all in flagrant violation of international and humanitarian laws. At this dangerous juncture, there is a real threat that the conflict will escalate and engulf all of Palestine, as well as other parts of the Region,” the PPP warned.

As such, the party said it lends its “unequivocal support” to the statement by the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, on October 13, 2023, in which he called on Israel to stop the evacuation order of over one million people from the Gaza, one of the most densely populated areas in the world – “a territory already besieged under aerial bombardment without fuel, electricity, water and food.” The Secretary General has appealed to Israel to reconsider such actions, as it would have devastating humanitarian consequences.

The PPP said it also welcomes the swift response by the Caribbean Community (Caricom), which in a statement on October 9, 2023, stressed that Caricom joined

Smoke rises from Israeli artillery shelling in Dahaira, in southern Lebanon, at the border with Israel on October 16

“responsible members of the international community in calling for an immediate ceasefire and the end of hostilities by all parties.

Caricom continues to support UNSC Res 242 and the ongoing efforts towards a two-state solution as the best way to achieve comprehensive peace, security and tranquillity between Israel and Palestine.”

Reiterating that it condemns the senseless killing of innocent civilians on both sides, the PPP went on to call for a number of actions towards the realisation of peace in the Region.

These include the “immediate, rapid, and unimpeded” humanitarian access throughout Gaza of fuel, food, medicine and water, etc, being allowed to enter; and an immediate reversal of the evacuation order by Israel of the Palestinians in Gaza.

The PPP also called for all hostages in Gaza to be released; for international humanitarian laws to be respected and upheld; and for civilians on both sides to be protected at all times.

“The world can no longer continue to turn a blind eye to the unacceptable

conditions in which the Palestinians have been living for generations. The Palestinian people deserve a homeland in which they can live in freedom and dignity.

The people of Israel also deserve to live in a country free from threats of violence and at peace with their neighbours. We believe that this can only be achieved in the context of a two-state solution,” the PPP emphasised.

The two-state solution is an agreement that would create a state for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip alongside Israel. (G11)

8 NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Fisherman handed 2 life sentences for 2011 murders

Convicted killer: Ravendranauth Mohanlall

A

former Fyrish Village, Corentyne, Berbice fisherman was sentenced to two life sentences with the possibility of being paroled after 30 years following his conviction in the fiery deaths of a boat captain and a teen boy back in 2011.

On Monday, Berbice High Court Judge Sandil Kissoon imposed two con-

current life sentences on 55-year-old Ravendranauth Mohanlall called “Fred”, whom a jury, last month, had found guilty of the murders of Beeram Motilall and Renard Fernandes.

Mohanlall had been detained since September 7, 2011, for the killings.

During his sentencing remarks, Judge Kissoon said that the excessive delay in arranging Mohanlall's trial violated Article 144 (1) of the Guyana Constitution, which stipulates that each accused person must be given a fair hearing within a reasonable amount of time.

This criminal’s fundamental right was violated, the Judge ruled.

As a result, he decided to deduct five years from each sentence for this infringement and awarded full credit for all the years Mohanlall spent on remand.

Additionally, the Judge

The potential…

…for Mid-East balance

A Murdered: Beeram Motilall

Murdered: Renard Fernandes

mandated that the convicted man continue to have medicine and therapy for his mental illnesses, namely, paranoid hallucinations and intellectual disability psychosis.

People in Mohanlall's neighbourhood described him as hardworking, respectful, peaceful, friendly, and an alcoholic, according to a probation report.

Reports from the prison ser-

vice indicated that he is a disciplined inmate who has never been rebuked for misconduct.

In relation to Mohanlall’s attitude towards the offence, the Probation Officer related that he has shown absolutely no remorse, maintaining that he had no reason to kill the pair.

As for the deceased men’s family, through victim impact statements, they implored the court to give them justice. Motilall’s widow described him as a family-oriented and hardworking man.

In a plea of mitigation, Stacy Goodings, Mohanlall's attorney, requested the court to take into account her client's "exemplary character" while incarcerated and to acknowledge the concerns raised by prison officials who noticed her client's mental health issues.

Goodings asked the court to consider his previous clean criminal record and sought for some kind of rehabilitation measures to be incorporated into the sentence. Meanwhile, when asked by the trial Judge if he had anything to say before the sentence was passed, Mohanlall replied: “No”.

In his sentencing statement, the Judge stated that he had a very tough task in determining a just sentence due to several issues that came up, such as the convict's alcohol issues, constitutional concerns, and the state of Mohanlall's mental health following the killings.

According to Justice Kissoon, Mohanlall unleashed immeasurable cruelty and gratuitous violence on his victims, resulting in prolonged suffering.

Despite the jury’s verdict, the Judge said that the convict showed no remorse for his unlawful conduct which has left families broken.

The Judge acknowledged that while the death penalty is still a punishment for murder, the circumstances of this case did not call for it.

“Life is the only just and appropriate sentence,” he remarked, reasoning that grave offences demand a grave sentence not only to punish the offender but to deter like-minded individuals who may contemplate such a course of action.

TURN TO PAGE 12

s we wait for the other Israeli foot to drop, have you considered, Dear Reader, that the mighty Israeli military machine – which has been sustained for six decades by massive US backing – might’ve fallen into a trap?? Which is gonna create new challenges to US hegemony that’s been eroding during that time?? Mull over this…don’t you think that Hamas knew what Israel’s reaction would be to its brutal invasion of Israel – especially when they took pains to kill civilians and take hostages??

This scenario has played out so many times since Gaza and the West Bank were formed as ghettoes to contain the displaced Palestinian population. The Israelis figured their carrot and (massive) stick strategy against Hamas was working like a Pavlovian reflex to deter attacks save for occasional small forays to maintain their street cred for funding.

Hamas certainly knew that was the Israeli thinking – and that’s the latter’s fatal mistake. In warfare, the enemy must never be allowed to predict your moves since that allows them to be countered. And that’s what is playing out in Israel-Palestine today. Hamas knows Israel would’ve countered massively – and they know they’d suffer massive casualties. They know that babies, children and women in FAAAAAR greater numbers than they inflicted on the Israelis will be slaughtered by the latter – while breaking International Law!! And they were willing to accept this!

Why? Because while they’ll lose this battle in body count, they’re expecting to win the war of world opinion by ripping away the moral high ground Israel has occupied for the aforementioned six decades! Israel – the world heard ad nauseum – was a democracy that didn’t commit atrocities on civilians. Well, even before the promised assault by the 300,000+ Israeli forces, the bombardment by missiles on civilian centres has already surpassed the atrocities by Hamas. Already, we have had the all-important Global South – with the exception of India – and even some Western allies – taking a firm stand against Israel!!

Israel’s gonna now become the villain of the piece – for acting with such barbarity against civilians!! All its Western allies – and India – gonna be tarred with this same brush.

Hamas is playing a long game to achieve this strategic shift in perceptions. Already, have you ever seen such demonstrations against Israel across the world? Revenge is never a good strategy – as the US found out after 9-11 by attacking Afghanistan!!

Another victory’s gonna be achieved when Hezbollah in the West Bank is forced – by Israeli atrocities – to intensify its attacks as the Palestinian refugees pour out of Gaza into the Egyptian desert. Ironically, reversing the Biblical move of Moses and the Twelve Tribes!!

As Israel fights on two fronts – and kills primarily civilians – the noose tightens!! …of agri While we’re now being recognised as a petrostate, strategically the PPP recognises that our future lies in agriculture!! However, many Guyanese think because we were formed as an agri-state by the colonials, realising our agri potential gonna be a cinch!! That’s the worst mistake we could make!! The colonials focused on a sugar monoculture to the cost of everything else – and look where that’s gotten us!! The industry is struggling to survive as a high-cost producer of a product now seen as a threat to good health!!

In the new world where we’re hearing about “food security” as the need to be satisfied, we gotta pick our crops strategically. We’ve already built a strong rice industry – completely through private efforts. Rice is eaten by the majority of the people in the world – and food tastes don’t change with the snap of a finger.

We can do worse than increasing our production in the short term from the 650,000 tonnes we’re exporting right now, to a million tonnes!! …against Venezuela Russia’s tightening its relations with Venezuela - beyond facilitating their surreptitious shipments of oil. They’re preparing for a Maduro visit and promised increased investments. The US gotta see this as a direct threat to their strategic interests!!

Bomb them!!

The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Guyana Times’ editorial policy and stance

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

NEWS

9

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

President Ali attending inaugural Canada-Caricom Summit in Ottawa P

resident Dr Irfaan Ali on Monday departed Guyana for Ottawa, Canada, where he will join other leaders of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) for the first Canada-Caricom Summit.

The Summit, which is being held under the theme “Strategic Partners for a Resilient Future”, aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Canada and the Caribbean Region.

According to a statement from the Office of the President, the Guyanese Head of State will join other regional leaders to ad-

vance shared priorities in several areas, including building inclusive and sustainable economies and increasing trade and investment. Leaders are also expected to discuss climate change and its impacts in the Caribbean.

President Ali is joined by the Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag.

Meanwhile, Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau will co-chair the Summit, which will run

President Dr Irfaan Ali

from October 17 to 19, 2023, alongside the current Chair of Caricom, the Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit.

Commenting on the Summit via a press statement earlier this month, Trudeau had said, “I look forward to welcoming leaders from the Caribbean Community to Ottawa this month. Canada and the Caribbean Community have built an enduring partnership over the last 50 years, based on ties between our people and our shared commitment to democracy, the rule of law and human rights.”

Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau

“At this Summit and beyond, we will keep working together to take climate action, build strong economies and keep people

safe, now and into the future,” Trudeau had added.

It was previously reported that the Summit will, among other things, focus on collective efforts to fight climate change and address its impacts in the Caribbean, including by exploring ways to improve access to finance for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Region.

Prime Minister Trudeau will also seek to highlight the importance of reinforcing democrat-

ic values, promoting human rights and the rulesbased international order, and strengthening coordination on regional security, including responding to the ongoing security, political and humanitarian crises in Haiti.

Meanwhile, the Caribbean leaders will also be presented with the platform to engage with Canadian business heads and investors to advance commercial opportunities in the Region.

Notably, Canada’s twoway merchandise trade with Caricom countries reached $1.8 billion in 2022, while bilateral trade in services reached $3.9 billion in 2021.

The Summit builds on Canada-Caricom’s long-standing partnership, furthering conversations held in February when Trudeau visited Nassau, The Bahamas for the 44th Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom.

Guyana is one of Canada’s largest merchandise trading partners in Caricom. In 2022, the value of the bilateral mer-

chandise trade totalled $294.1 million, with imports valued at $241.4 million and exports valued at $52.7 million.

Over the years, the countries have made significant efforts to strengthen their ties.

Most recently, Parliamentary Secretary to Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Maninder Sidhu, who attended the 45th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom in Trinidad and

Tobago, had also visited Guyana in July.

Among his engagements here, Sidhu met with Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd to further discussions on energy transition and food security.

He also met key political and commercial stakeholders to get a better understanding of Guyana’s economic situation and its opportunities for Canadian companies.

(G11)

10 NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Husband kills wife after being accused of sleeping with “Spanish girl”

A

42-year-old cook was brutally stabbed to death by her reputed husband during a heated argument at their camp at Princeville Backdam, Potaro, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), in the wee hours of Monday.

The dead woman has been identified as Christina Holder.

Police stated that the now dead woman and the suspect, 41, had been in a common-law relationship for the past 12 years. On

Dead: Christina Holder

Sunday evening at about 23:00h, the victim and the suspect were at their camp imbibing 'high wine' with coke and water while playing cards.

However, at about 02:00h on Sunday, a worker from a nearby camp was awakened by a noise emanating from the couple's camp which is about 100 feet away. The worker said he heard the couple arguing followed by a crashing sound after which Christina was heard screaming for

help.

The worker said he immediately ran to the couple's camp and saw the now dead woman with several stab wounds to her body, including her face and arms.

At the time, she was naked.

She subsequently collapsed to the ground, and the suspect was also there with blood on his body. The matter was immediately reported to the Mahdia Police Station.

As detectives arrived at the scene, the woman was

found motionless with multiple stab wounds to her body, face, and arms.

Meanwhile, the suspect was contacted by Police and told of the allegation levelled against him, to which he responded: "She accused me of f*#*king a Spanish girl."

As such, he was arrested and escorted to the Mahdia Police Station along with the alleged murder weapon. Investigations are continuing.

11 Illegal electrical connection causes fire at Bourda Market NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…stall destroyed; others damaged

A

t least one stall was completely gutted and two others sustained severe damages due to a fire that erupted at the Bourda Market on Monday. The fire started at about 07:40h at Bourda and Charlotte Streets, Georgetown.

The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) upon receiving the report dispatched water tenders along with their respective crews from the Central, Alberttown, and Campbellville Fire Stations to the area.

Upon arriving at the scene, they observed a oneflat wooden stall owned by Norlana Brown and occupied as a cosmetology stall, on fire. As a result of the fire, the stall and its contents were completely destroyed.

In addition, stall 13A, owned by Vanessa Peters and also occupied as a cosmetology stall, was affected by radiated heat from the building of origin, re-

sulting in the southern external wall being severely damaged and 3.5m of PVC ceiling being completely destroyed.

Another stall, owned by Samantha Glasgow and occupied as Samantha’s Shoe Box and Clothing Store, was also affected by radiated heat, resulting in the northern external wall being severely damaged and one solar panel, one CCTV circuit camera, and an AC unit being completely destroyed.

According to the GFS, the fire started as a result of illegal connections using faulty electrical wires to power several stalls thus causing overloading and overheating. At the scene on Monday, several stall owners close by stated that they were not too sure how the fire started but initially accused a vagrant who normally sleeps in the area of setting the place on fire.

They had reported that after the fire started, the

The stalls that sustained severe damages

Fire Station was contacted, and due to their quick response, several other vending stalls were saved. They thanked the response by the firefighters who sprang into action and contained the blaze to that one area.

Nevertheless, the Guyana Fire Service continues to warn against the use of illegal connections for electricity.

“An illegal electricity connection is an unlawful connection to the electrical installation in an effort to pay less (or simply not pay) for the energy consumed.

It poses a significant danger to both the individuals working on the installations and to all residents of the area,” the GFS added.

It further stated that the chances of fire and

electrical overloads are increased, which can cause serious damage to households and businesses. An electrical overload occurs when too much current passes through an electric circuit. The wires heat and can melt, with the risk of starting a fire.

“Slack connections could be either external or internal and occur when

the connection is not electro-mechanically sound, thus resulting in electrical arcing that leads to fire.”

Citizens are asked to desist from using illegal electricity connections and are reminded to remain vigilant and to equip their homes and businesses with fire alarms, fire extinguishers, and smoke detectors.

250 acres of millet production to get underway at Tacama Savannah

P

reparations are underway for the cultivation of 250 acres of millet at the Tacama Savannah in Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) – where over 160,000 tonnes of corn and soya bean were recently harvested.

“This crop coming, Tacama Gold, that we partnered with to do corn and soya, they will start the millet there and they will start about 250 acres of millet production over there,” Zulfikar Mustapha told reporters on the sidelines of an event on Monday.

Some 18,000 acres were initially cultivated by a consortium of companies, including Bounty Farms Limited, Guyana Stockfeed Limited, Edun Farms, Royal Chicken, SBM Wood, Dubulay Ranch, and the Brazilian-owned N F Agriculture.

According to the Minister, this same consortium will embark on millet production, in addition to replanting corn and soya.

“The commitment that President Ali would have made to Prime Minister Modi, we’ll start that very shortly…with this new crop, with corn and soya, millet

and other things…,” he added.

“They’re now preparing back the land to start it and that should happen within a month from now.”

Assistant Managing Director of Bounty Farm, David Fernandes had recently told this publication of the consortium’s intention to branch out to producing millets.

“We have everything on track to plant this November, but the only thing we don’t have control over, is the rain.

And that would be the only consideration for us not to plant a crop of corn or soya bean. But nevertheless, we would still plant a cover crop of millet or something like that on the entire land, to make sure it’s covered for the rains that will come in December,” Fernandes had explained.

“Just to make sure we don’t have no erosions of the soils going into 2024. That would be the worst-case scenario, but that depends on if this El Nino continues. But if we see evidence that we’ll get some rain, we can take the risk to plant. But we have to be very careful about that.”

India has been a global leader in the production of millets. Guyana and India had committed to collaborate on millet production.

The South Asian state is expected to provide technical support and guidance during production.

Millets are a highly varied group of small seeds and cereal crops. They are a powerhouse of nutrients, rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, and fibres.

Based on the required environmental conditions for millet germination, Guyana is considered an ideal zone for the growth and development of the seed.

Importantly, millet pro-

duction would open up additional avenues for economic advancement, providing a new market for export.

Wheat trials

Meanwhile, Guyana has also been experimenting with wheat production and could very soon start producing this crop on a largescale.

Earlier this year, Mustapha had reported that the results from the wheat trials so far are promising.

“We did two or three indoor trials and it was very good, we are looking for some areas to do the outdoor trial. We started a part in Paramakatoi in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and I had

a report from our chief scientist, Dr Mahendra Persaud, who told me that the growth was very good. The results look very promising…it was a small trial so we have to continue to do the trial and ensure that it works. But the trial that we did so far was very promising,” Mustapha had said in April.

Guyana received 49 lines of wheat from the Government of Mexico to start a trial phase. The initial indoor trial, which explored several varieties, was completed at the Burma Rice Station in Mahaicony, Region Five (MahaicaBerbice). The aim of this wheat trial is to ensure Guyana becomes self-sufficient by reducing its import of wheat.

Corn and soya

Corn and soya bean are also relatively new crops for Guyana, with cultivation having started only in 2021.

President Dr Irfaan Ali has already announced that in another three years, the industry will see over US$40 million in investments that will help catapult the country into self-sufficiency and

aid in realising the Region’s objective of reducing its food import bill by 25% by 2025.

The Government has played a crucial role in supporting the growth of the corn and soya bean industry, with a commitment of over $1.2 billion to infrastructural development in the Tacama area, Berbice River.

Last year, the Government improved access to the area by constructing 40 kilometres of road, with the remaining seven kilometres scheduled to be completed this year. Additionally, the Government invested in a drying and storage facility for corn and soya bean, the first such facility in the country.

It was reported that plans are also afoot to start cultivating corn and soya bean in Moco Moco Village, North Rupununi. The Ministry of Agriculture is also assessing the capacity in other regions, with the aim of taking the project there in the future.

Guyana has aspirations of the country being a net exporter of corn and soya by 2025. In the feed industry, Guyana imports close to US$30 million in products annually. (G11)

12 NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Murder of elderly couple

3 accused acquitted due to insufficient evidence

Freed: Joel Blair

A

jury on Monday found three men not guilty of killing an elderly rice-farming couple on the East Bank of Essequibo (EBE) in 2016 after the trial Judge had directed the panel to submit formal notguilty verdicts due to insufficient evidence.

Before Demerara High Court Judge Jo-Ann Barlow, Joel Blair; Shamudeen Mohamed, also known as “Milo”; and Jason Howard, also known as “Smelly”, had been on trial for the murders of Mohamed Munir and his wife Jamilla Munir, which occurred on April 17, 2016.

Freed: Shamudeen Mohamed and Jason Howard (left)

The couple were burnt to death during an arson on their Good Hope, EBE home.

After the joint murder charge was read to them, each of these accused had entered a not guilty plea and their trial commenced on Wednesday, October 4 with a voir dire.

After that vior dire, the Judge decided not to allow the caution statements that the three men were said to have given to the detectives to be admitted into evidence.

The prosecution was un-

able to build a prima facie case after these statements were excluded because they were the only available evidence.

As such, the defence’s nocase submissions were upheld by the trial Judge, who then instructed the jury to return formal verdicts of not guilty in favour of each accused person.

Consequently, the accused people were discharged.

These three accused were defended by a group of attorneys under the di-

rection of Nigel Hughes. A team of State Counsel prosecuted the matter.

Former well-known rice growers Mohamed Munir, 75, and his wife Jamilla Munir, 69, were locked in their bedroom when a breakin attempt was made on their heavily-grilled house on April 17, 2016. The elderly couple, who were reportedly asleep, were awakened by noises, and were later ordered out of their bedroom by several males.

However, after the couple failed to comply with those orders, the perpetrators set a sofa in the home alight after tossing a fuel cylinder into the house, and that caused a huge explosion that set the house on fire, even as they then made good their escape.

Attempts by neighbours to rescue the couple, who were heard and seen screaming for help from

Dead: Mohamed Munir

Dead: Jamilla Munir

a grilled window of their home, proved futile.

Their charred remains were discovered together after the blaze was doused.

Meanwhile, a jury cleared Howard in 2019 of an attempted murder charge.

This accusation was brought about by the shooting of a male security guard

on October 20, 2016, during a robbery of an electronics store at the Fogarty's Building on Water Street, Georgetown.

Then, in April 2019, he was found guilty of robbing a fruit vendor at gunpoint and given a 12-month prison sentence. In addition, he was charged with more armed robberies. (G1)

Father of 5 gunned down at Ogle shot 3 times to head – autopsy

A

n autopsy performed on the body of Kimal Khan, who was gunned down at the Ogle traffic light in the wee hours of Sunday, revealed that he was shot three times to the head and once to the chest.

Khan, of Mon Repos, ECD, was shot dead in the presence of his wife.

The post-mortem was performed by Government Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh at the Georgetown Public Hospital’s mortuary on Monday.

It was reported that Khan and his reputed wife visited several bars in Mon Repos after which they left for Georgetown. As they made their way to the city,

Khan stopped his motorcycle at the traffic light at Ogle, waiting for the light to change when a tinted silver-coloured Allion vehicle pulled up alongside them and the occupants opened fire on them.

Khan immediately fell off the motorcycle and onto the roadway as the car sped away. The Police were summoned and arrived about five minutes later, along with EMT personnel. They found Khan lying on the road motionlessly in a pool of blood.

The body was examined, and a gunshot wound was seen on the left side of the chest and two to the right side of the head. At the scene, six 9mm spent shells

Murdered: Kimal Khan

were recovered as investigations continue.

Up to press time, no arrests were made as Police continue their investigations.

Fisherman handed 2 life...

In so doing, he made reference to the number of homicides that result from binge drinking.

State Counsel Muntaz Ali prosecuted this case.

The duo was killed between September 6, 2011, and September 12, 2011, at sea, near Bush Lot Villag

e, Corentyne It was reported that 45-year-old boat captain Motilall and Fernandes, 15, departed to go fishing but were instead set on fire by Mohanlall while they were sleeping.

It is unclear what might have caused Mohanlall to

FROM PAGE 8

light them on fire. Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome, brought on by the victims’ severe burn injuries, was listed as their cause of death.

Between 50 to 65 percent of their bodies were burned in the second and third degree.

NEWS

13

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Sophia man who set wife on fire jailed for 19 years …“please forgive me” – man to family

By Feona Morrison

W

azim Perreira, formerly of North Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was on Monday handed a 19-year jail sentence for the murder of his common-law wife, Olivia DeFreitas, whom he had set on fire.

Referencing the extent of the injuries the 24-year-old woman sustained, Demerara High Court Judge Simone Morris-Ramall said that in all the circumstances of the case, she found 19 years, minus the time served on remand, to be an appropriate punishment.

Perreira, 31, with whom De Freitas had two children, was originally indicted for the capital offence of murder and opted to plead guilty as charged upon his arraignment last month, throwing himself at the mercy of the court.

The severity of the victim's injuries and the fact that the murder was a premeditated act carried out in front of the woman's then-underage brother were two of the factors the Judge took into account while determining the proper sentence for this confessed killer.

Lamenting the impact the woman’s death has had and continues to have on her family, Justice Morris-Ramlall said, “Her minor children have now lost the care of both of their parents. They have been permanently deprived of the care of their mother.”

The Judge informed Perreira that his actions breached his partner's confidence, noting that she could not find any mitigating considerations in the circumstances of this case.

She went on to tell him that DeFreitas's alleged infidelity was not a justification for killing her.

The Judge started with a base of 27 years, deducted nine years for the early guilty plea, and added two years for aggravating circumstances to leave 20 years. She subtracted one year for mitigating circumstances from this 20 years, resulting in a total prison sentence of 19 years.

Once the sentence was imposed, she counselled the prisoner to make the most of his incarceration by learning the necessary skills and information that would enable him to make a constructive contribution to society after his release. She agreed that there are good chances he will be rehabilitated for reintegration into society given his comparatively young age.

Perreira was also advised by the Judge to continue attending anger management classes.

“Cold-blooded”

Last Thursday, State Counsel Madana Rampersaud concluded arguments on behalf of the prosecution, pleading with the court to punish Perreira severely for the “cold-blooded” crime.

Reports are that at approx-

Murdered: Olivia DeFreitas

imately 13:00h on September 10, 2019, Perreira visited DeFreitas’s place of abode in Sophia, Greater Georgetown, and requested to speak with her.

When the woman refused to entertain his request, he went away, but returned shortly after with a container of gasoline, which he threw on the woman and set her afire.

As the woman’s loud screams rang out, neighbours ran to her rescue and rushed her to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where she was admitted and treated for second-degree burns to her face, chest, abdomen, and back.

She, however, succumbed to her injuries a month later.

Premeditated

When DeFreitas was admitted to the hospital, Perreira had been slapped with an attempted murder charge; but after she passed away, the charge against him was upgraded to murder.

The evidence in the case unequivocally demonstrates that Perriera, by his acts, wanted to kill the woman or seriously hurt her, Prosecutor Rampersaud had submitted.

This is “cold-blooded murder”, Rampersaud emphasised, as he added that Perriera had set the woman on fire in full view of her then 14-year-old brother.

In describing the couple’s tumultuous relationship, the prosecutor said DeFreitas had been compelled to return home to live with her mother, following Perriera’s abuse of her.

Despite the fact that DeFreitas had spent several weeks in the hospital, Rampersaud noted that the woman’s health had always been critical because she had 40 per cent of her body burned.

Physicians had come to the conclusion that her illness might result in disfigurement and impairment, the State Counsel highlighted in his submissions to the court.

In this regard, he said, Perreira’s conduct on the day in question was careless and reckless.

In light of this, he begged the court to take into account an additional set of aggravating circumstances: the seriousness and frequency of the offence, the use of a combustible material, the nature of their relationship, and the frequency of intimate partner violence and domestic violence.

Specifically, Rampersaud mentioned that women who have left abusive relationships or have threatened to

Confessed killer: Wazim Perreira

leave have been killed, and as such, a sentence that would serve as a deterrent to wouldbe offenders is warranted.

Delinquent

A probation report, meanwhile, revealed that the admitted murderer had a difficult upbringing, dropping out of school and taking odd jobs around his neighbourhood.

He started engaging in delinquent behaviour, leading to the residents calling him “smokey”, “ill-mannered,” and “thief,” according to a Probation Officer.

According to the Probation Officer, Perreira had been previously charged with larceny and wounding, and had frequently gotten into verbal arguments with his partner’s family.

However, those matters were settled after Perreira had compensated the victims.

Miss her

Through victim impact statements, DeFreitas’s brother and mother said they miss her.

Her mother reflected on the life she had shared with her daughter, and remarked that they had done everything together. “I grieve a lot for her. Her children miss her,” she said.

“I miss my sister,” DeFreitas’s brother cried.

“I’m really sad. I want justice for my sister. I want Wazim Perreira to go to jail for life.

Every time I think about what happened, I does get angry.”

When asked by the Judge if he had anything to say, a shackled and handcuffed Wazim Perreira replied, “I am very sorry for what I do to my family, Your Worship.”

He then turned to the mother and brother of the deceased, who were seated in the courtroom, and said, “Please forgive me”.

Meanwhile, Perriera’s lawyer, Adrian Thompson, in a mitigation plea, asked the court to temper justice with mercy. In so doing, he emphasised, his client ought to receive credit for his early guilty plea, the time he spent on remand, and deductions for his heartfelt declaration of regret.

Given his client’s relatively young age, Thompson said, he has good prospects of being rehabilitated for reintegration into society.

The other prosecutors in this case were State Counsel Praneta Seeraj, State Counsel Cicelia Corbin, and State Counsel Yonika Rowland.

(G1)

14 NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Linden-Mabura road

Over 2km completed; Brazilian contractor preparing for more works …cease work order issued to contractor for mining laterite – PS

A

s works continue on the Linden to Mabura Hill road, which will eventually reach all the way to Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) over two kilometres of asphaltic road has been completed and preparations are ongoing for another 5 kilometres.

This was revealed during Monday’s session of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), by the Public Works Ministry Permanent Secretary Vladim Persaud,

who also revealed that preparations are being made to work on another 5 kilometres.

“The Linden to Mabura road is currently under construction. We’ve completed just over two kilometres of asphaltic and a next five kilometres currently being prepared in terms of the sub base, along with the original design for the inclusion frames,” Persaud explained.

Questions were meanwhile raised over how the contractor, Brazilian firm

Alya Constructora, was sourcing construction material. PAC member Ganesh Mahipaul said that the community of Malali has expressed concern over the contractor mining laterite from their land and he asked if they were being compensated.

It was then that the Permanent Secretary revealed that the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission has issued a cease order on mining of the laterite, which led

Images from the Linden to Mabura Hill road construction

to Mahipaul asking the Permanent Secretary to lay over the contract with the Brazilian firm, as well as the compensation that was agreed between the company and the village.

“This is an ongoing development. As you rightly stated, in the contract the company would have been granted approval to purchase materials. And as such, any agreement between Malali and the Toshao and Alya would be a private arrangement between the company and the village,” the Permanent Secretary said.

“I’m advised that the Geology and Mines Commission has ordered a cease and desist in terms of the mining. And that has been brought to our attention and we’re currently, in consultation with the supervisory consultant and project management team, are currently reviewing that information,” Persaud added.

The community of Malali

is located approximately 50 miles from Linden and is populated by just over 230 Amerindians of the Arawak tribe. The village’s main economic activities include logging and subsistence farming.

Traversing sections of the Linden to Lethem Road has been a nightmare for heavily laden lorries over the past few years, with many toppling off the roadway. The bridges are even worse. Some vehicle operators would have to align the boards before attempting to cross. They do not always make it over safely.

The US$190 million contract for the road was signed in May 2022 with Brazilian company Construtora Queiroz Galvao SA for the construction of the 121-kilometre road. The project is being funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) via a US$112 million loan, a grant to the tune of £50 million (US$66 million) from the United Kingdom

under the Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (CIPF), and an input of US$12 million from the Guyana Government.

This is the largest grant Guyana has ever received from the Government of the UK. With a 7.2-metre-wide carriageway, the Linden-toMabura road is expected to feature a cycle and pedestrian lane measuring 2 metres wide, along with 10 bus stops outfitted with ramps for persons with disabilities.

Additionally, a number of bridges and culverts along the way will be replaced, and some 123 lights would be installed. In its commitment to this project, the Dr Irfaan Ali-led Administration had set aside some $3.19 billion in the 2022 budget for the construction of 32 bridges between Kurupukari and Lethem along the Lindento-Lethem trail. This leg of the project is expected to last for three years. (G3)

Guyanese shot dead in Suriname while parting fight

Dead: Curtis Brown also called “Big” or “Cats”

A

Guyanese fisherman was on Friday shot dead in neighbouring Suriname while attempting to part a fight between two men.

Dead is 39-year-old Curtis Brown also called “Big” or “Cats”, formerly of

The street outside a nightclub in Paramaribo where Brown was shot

Queenstown, Corriverton, Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne).

Brown had been living in the Dutch-speaking territory for the past six years.

Based on reports received, Brown was attempting to part a fight between two men when one of them whipped out a firearm and shot him in the face.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

15 Troy Resources exits Guyana with $2.6B in royalties owed NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…GGMC confirms company’s disappearing act

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roy Resources, the Australian company that at one point was one of the largest gold producers in Guyana, has exited Guyana while leaving behind billions of dollars in owed royalties.

In September, the Legal Affairs Minister had written a demand letter to Troy Resources, after its efforts to pack up shop with over $2.6 billion in royalties owed. At the time, the company was given 60 days to clear its debts.

When contacted on Monday, GGMC Commissioner Newell Dennison confirmed that Troy indeed appears to

Troy’s operations in Region 7

have exited the country.

He referred the publication to the Natural Resources Ministry.

“This has been going on for some time and I think pronouncements have been made from time

Thieves raid New Amsterdam stores

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hieves over the weekend reportedly broke into at least three business places in New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice Corentyne).

One of the businesses is situated in Pitt Street, which is in the heart of the main shopping area, and another is a shoe store a short distance away.

On Monday morning when workers went to work, they found that their place of employment had been burglarised.

This publication understands that it was the second breakage to that building for the month.

Danzie’s Shoe World, also situated on Strand, was broken into and the owner, Ramroop Rajnauth, said about $1.5M worth of footwear, clothing, and travelling bags were removed from the store.

The empty shoe boxes left behind by the thieves at Danzie’s Shoe World

He pointed out that 25 pairs of Clarks were removed, with most of them being sizes 7 and 7½.

Additionally, the thieves took male, female, and children's clothing.

Travelling bags and haversacks were also part of the loot.

According to Rajnauth, choice pieces of clothing were removed from racks.

He said many of the shoes were stored in different storerooms. “They went through and only took the sizes they wanted,” he said. Police are said to be investigating. (G4)

Guyanese shot dead in...

His eldest sister, Deonna Brown-Norha, explained that Brown went to the local market to purchase vegetables at around 02:00h on Friday.

As he was leaving, he observed two men involved in a heated argument which quickly escalated into a fight.

One of the men reportedly pulled out a gun, and Brown attempted to persuade him to put away the firearm.

“And there and then he turned the gun on Brown and shot him in his face,” the sister said.

The man reportedly fled the scene as Brown fell to the ground and was subsequently pronounced dead.

Meanwhile, Brown had been released from hospital just four days prior to being killed.

“Two weeks ago, he returned from sea and he went into a store to get something and when he came out of the store two guys attacked him. He was chopped on his hands because he tried to fight back and he received chops to his lower and upper arm. He was in the hospital all the time and only four days before that he came out of the hospital... This is so sad for us to hear,” his sister said.

Brown was known to both men involved in the altercation on Friday. The suspect was later arrested.

The suspect was shot in the leg by authorities after he reportedly resisted arrest. He is currently receiving medical attention.

The suspect has since been identified as Jason Issacs of Bristol Street, East Canje, Berbice.

FROM PAGE 14

Back in 2021, the Guyana Police Force had issued a wanted bulletin for Issacs for questioning in relation to the murder of Hemraj Pardessi.

Pardesi, also known as “Prem”, 67, who would usually travel between Guyana and the United States, was found lying face down in his yard on August 3, 2021, at Reliance Settlement, East Canje, Berbice, with blood oozing from his nose and duct tape around his neck.

Twenty-three-yearold Malisha Dutchin of Reliance Settlement, East Canje, and 32-year-old Mario Bissoondyal were subsequently charged with that murder.

It had been reported that Bissoondyal had confessed to the crime and in so doing implicated Issacs.

(G4)

to time… I’m acknowledging that we do have an issue with Troy and that they indeed appear to have exited,” Dennison said.

Meanwhile, efforts to contact Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat on the issue were futile.

Troy Resources has been operational in Guyana since 2015 and out of the 634,905 ounces of gold declared in 2019, Troy Resources as one of Guyana’s largest gold producers accounted for a large portion of it.

The company, which has its operations in Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) reported production figures of 58,118 ounces of gold from its Karouni, Region Seven mine for 2019. In 2018, their gold production figure was 70,207.

It had also been announced in 2021 that the company would be partnering with Barrick Gold Corporation, a Canadian company with operations around the world. Based on the joint-venture, the company was supposed to explore for gold near the

Karouni mining site in Region Seven.

Barrick’s partnership with Troy Resources, though a new one, did not mean the company was actually a stranger to Guyana. Back in 2018, Barrick withdrew from Guyana after spending US$7.1 million on the Arakaka gold project, where it was in a joint venture with Alicanto Minerals.

While the partnership was signed in 2021, however, it had also been reported that year that Troy hit a snag in its preparations for what was supposed to be its first underground mine in Guyana, the Smarts Underground Prospect.

The company had announced in its market update that previous timelines for starting production at the underground site would be delayed, listing a number of underlying factors.

These factors had included additional drilling being requested by the geotechnical consultants and the resource calculation, as well as lack of contrac-

tors and service providers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In July 2021, it was announced that 80 to 85 per cent of the company’s workers would be terminated, a process that was to be concluded in two to three weeks. The representatives were asked to provide the Labour Ministry with records indicating how many workers will be affected, how many are to be paid off and other details.

A Government delegation that included Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton and Chief Labour Officer Michelle Baburam, met with the company, which was represented by General Manager Colin Connors, Human Resources Manager Samantha Latchman, Manager Michael Rodrigues and Company Consultant Mohamed Akeel. Among the areas discussed was systems that will be implemented to recall some, if not most of the workers when normal operations resume.

(G3)

16 NEWS PM emphasises Govt’s commitment to bridging energy divide for hinterland communities TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…commissions solar farms in Capoey, Tapakuma

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rime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips commissioned two solar mini-photovoltaic (PV) farms on Sunday for the Indigenous communities of Tapakuma Village and Capoey Mission on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam).

The grids include a battery energy storage system and transmission line.

The solar farm in Capoey Mission boasts a 41.5-kilowatt system with a 125-kilowatt battery; while Tapakuma’s solar mini-PV farm provides residents with a 21-kilowatt system and a 63.47-kilowatt battery.

The Prime Minister, who oversees the energy sector, said that the projects demonstrate the Government’s dedication to equitable development for all Guyanese through the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy

sources. This shift, he said, aligns with the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030.

He spoke of the systems in place to transition to renewable energy; and to amplify food and climate security to enhance the lives of all Guyanese and to “stand out as an example of development in Latin America and the Caribbean, and of course the wider world”.

Speaking to the residents of Tapakuma, the Prime Minister emphasised the Government’s peo-

ple-centred approach, focusing on designing and implementing projects that bring development to local communities.

“We believe that as a Government, our plans, our projects and programmes that we design, once properly delivered, can improve the lives and livelihood of the people of Guyana. We want to ensure that you get better electricity, better water, better ICT connectivity, better roads, better medical facilities, better school facilities and we are working

overtime… and that’s why you hear terms like transformational development, accelerated development.”

At Capoey’s commissioning ceremony, he noted that the project exemplifies the Government’s commitment to bridging the energy divide in line with the Administration’s manifesto promises. “We are here to deliver another promise we made to you, our people, in our manifesto that we went to elections with in 2020. One of the things we promised to do is to bridge the energy divide, and what we are doing today is implementing another project that will ensure that.

No longer will the people on the coastline only get the benefits of good energy supply, but today and onwards

the people in the hinterland and in the riverine areas will also benefit.”

He expressed optimism that the solar farms will aid in the overall development of Indigenous communities, emphasising their collective responsibility to manage the solar grids responsibly.

Additionally, he discussed the Government’s sustainable energy efforts, including the distribution of 30,000 solar panel systems benefiting 200 hinterland communities, implementation of the gas-to-shore project (providing an additional 300 megawatts), and plans to seek investments for the Amaila Falls Hydro Project.

Head of Guyana’s Energy Agency and lead agency for implementing solar farms, Dr Mahender Sharma pro-

vided an overview of the projects and echoed the sentiments expressed by Prime Minister Phillips during the commissioning ceremonies.

In addition to the commissioning, the Prime Minister addressed concerns affecting residents from both communities, including water quality, transportation, road rehabilitation, ICT, farming, electrical grid connectivity, education, and hinterland scholarships.

Prime Minister Phillips made several interventions including a $500,000 donation facilitated through his office’s Special Projects fund to assist Tapakuma Village farms. He also assured residents that relevant agencies and authorities will address all issues raised.

Assuria opens new branch at West Central Mall A

ssuria officially opened the doors to its 10th branch office in Guyana on October 2, 2023, on the ground floor of the West Central Mall, Leonora, West Coast Demerara.

Earlier this year, the company cut the ribbon to its new Head Office, the Assuria Georgetown Highrise, at Lot 133 Church Street, Georgetown.

It is foreseen to add to Assuria’s extensive network of locations and further enhance the company’s accessibility and presence in the region by being able to bring innovative and tailored insurance solutions based on the needs of individuals, families, and businesses.

With the addition of this new office, Assuria now boasts a unique and convenient presence at the 3 major Malls in Guyana, Giftland Mall, Amazonia Mall, and the new West Central Mall, and is able to be one of the only financial institutions to offer in-person or virtual after-hours services beyond the usual business hours.

Assuria’s mall offices are open from 11:00h to 19:00h from Monday to Friday and 11:00h to 17:00h on Saturday and Sunday.

“We are excited to celebrate this momentous occasion as we open our 10th branch office and 11th office overall in Guyana,” Managing Director of Assuria, Yogindra Arjune noted.

“This expansion represents a significant step in our commitment to providing the highest quality insurance services and products to even more communities and in the most convenient manner. Our dedicated team at the new

branch is eager to serve the unique needs of this rapidly developing region.”

Assuria’s 10th branch office offers a full spectrum of insurance products, including motor, fire, life, bonds, liabilities, group health, contractors’ insurance, travel, and more.

The company is known for its tailored and client-focused approach, making it easier for customers to secure the insurance coverage that suits their unique needs and budgets.

17 New tourism products being developed in Region 9 T NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

he Government, through the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), is working to develop two brand-new tourism experiences in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) as part of the objective of transforming Guyana into a premier tourism destination.

The first tourism experience is related to pottery in the village of Toka in the North Rupununi district, a DPI report stated, adding that to achieve this, the authority has recently facilitated a level two pottery train-

ing exercise with several of the villagers. During the training, the participants learned about the different types of clay.

With this training which was led by Margarete Cornette, the participants will be able to transfer their knowledge to visitors.

According to GTA, this experience will be a first of its kind for the village, and it will also add to the diversification of tourism experiences in the country.

This specific experience will bring much authentici-

Horseback riding in Shulinab

ty to the sector and will allow visitors to create memorable experiences.

Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday; Iran issues warning

U

S President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and make clear Israel has the right to defend itself, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday.

Blinken said after lengthy talks with Netanyahu that Biden will reaffirm solidarity with Israel, which has widely been expected to launch a ground assault in Gaza.

Israel has vowed to annihilate the Hamas movement that rules Gaza after fighters burst into Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,300 people, mainly civilians, in the deadliest day in the country's 75-year-old his-

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

tory. Biden will make clear that "Israel has the right and indeed the duty to defend its people from Hamas and other terrorists and to prevent future attacks," Blinken told reporters after hours of talks with Israel's war cabinet in Tel Aviv. During those talks, he was forced to shelter in a bunker for five minutes when sirens went off.

He said Israel would brief Biden on its war aims and strategy and on how it will conduct operations "in a way that minimizes civilian casualties and enables humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not benefit Hamas." The U.S. and Israel agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza, Blinken said. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told state TV: "Leaders of the Resistance will not allow the Zionist regime to take any action in Gaza. ... All options are open and we cannot be indifferent

Women in Toka village undergoing the pottery training (DPI photo)

It includes horseback riding, hiking, camping, and wildlife spotting among other activities.

During the past months, GTA has been assessing several villages and working with the residents to unlock the potential of the areas in order to develop more tourism products.

The authority has been doing this through a ‘vil-

lage circuit’ initiative which was implemented to develop what the region has to offer into unique experiences.

A new product development grant of up to $1 million was also launched back in July. This grant is to help cushion the expenses and give local operators the opportunity to help strengthen and expand the tourism sector.

7000 pre-school children already screened for health conditions – Dr Anthony

U.S. President Joe Biden

to the war crimes committed against the people of Gaza."

"The resistance front is capable of waging a long-term war with the enemy (Israel)... in the coming hours, we can expect a preemptive action by the resistance front," he said, without elaborating.

Iran refers to regional countries and forces opposed to Israel and the United States as a "resistance front."

Amirabdollahian said it was not limited to Hezbollah in Lebanon and added: "This front was formed throughout the region to preserve the independence of nations and counter repeated aggressions by the Zionist regime over the past years."

Last week, Iran's top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran was not involved in the Hamas attack on Israel, but hailed what he called Israel's "irreparable" military and intelligence defeat.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday that while Tehran supported the Palestinian cause, the resistance front against Israel made its own independent decisions.

Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Bassam Massoud and Nuha Sharaf in Gaza, Ari Rabinovitch, Dan Williams, Henriette Chacar, Dedi Hayun, Maayan Lubell, Emily Rose, James Mackenzie and John Davison in Jerusalem, Parisa Hafezi in Dubai, Humeyra Pamuk, Hatem Maher, Ahmed Tolba and Omar Abdel-Razek in Cairo, Trevor Hunnicutt, Nandita Bose, Rami Ayyub and Katharine Jackson in Washington, Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Writing

by David Brunnstrom; Editing

by Howard Goller and Cynthia Osterman

Additionally, the authority has been working to develop a comprehensive tour package in the village of Shulinab, South Central Rupununi.

This package is being developed through collaboration with Visit Rupununi and Kamadi Adventures, two private tour operators in the area.

This new experience is geared at attracting persons interested in rustic experiences while at the same time learning about what the village has to offer.

Earlier, Iran's foreign minister said Israel would not be allowed to act in Gaza without consequences, warning of "preemptive action" in the coming hours.

Gaza authorities say more than 2,800 people have been killed there, around a quarter of them children, and more than 10,000 wounded are in hospitals desperately short of supplies. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told state TV: "Leaders of the Resistance will not allow the Zionist regime to take any action in Gaza. ... All options are open and we cannot be indifferent to the war crimes committed against the people of Gaza."

"The resistance front is capable of waging a long-term war with the enemy (Israel)... in the coming hours, we can expect a preemptive action by the resistance front," he said, without elaborating.

Iran refers to regional countries and forces opposed to Israel and the United States as a "resistance front."

Amirabdollahian said it was not limited to Hezbollah in Lebanon and added: "This front was formed throughout the region to preserve the independence of nations and counter repeated aggressions by the Zionist regime over the past years."

Last week, Iran's top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran was not involved in the Hamas attack on Israel, but hailed what he called Israel's "irreparable" military and intelligence defeat.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday that while Tehran supported the Palestinian cause, the resistance front against Israel made its own independent decisions. (Reuters)

T

he Comprehensive Child and Young Health Programme (CYHP) which was launched two months ago, is moving briskly as 7000 pre-school children have already been screened for health conditions.

This is according to the Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony as he answered questions posed by the Department of Public Information (DPI) on Saturday last.

Minister Anthony noted that approximately 12,000 children will be screened during this round of screening.

“We have about a small percentage more to complete and then once we complete that, we are going to look at those who are now in

the nursery and to be able to screen all of those in the nursery and then we’ll go on to primary and secondary,” Dr Anthony stated.

From the number of children who are already screened, 1000 children were diagnosed with different types of conditions and they will be provided with assistance from the Ministry, which is free of cost.

“The severity ranges, but some of them might need spectacles, others might need a hearing aid, others might need some interventions maybe because they have skin rashes, different things, so whatever it is that we find, we then bring them into one of our clinics and we try to resolve the problems that they have,” he further

explained.

The collaborative programme by the Health and Education Ministries seeks to ensure that children undergo preventative checkups to detect any underlying illness or conditions at an early age.

It forms part of a holistic approach to battle the high number of chronic non-communicable diseases in Guyana.

The Ministry intends to screen 27,000 nursery-level children by the end of 2023.

This will be expanded to the primary and secondary levels. It is being supported by the Mount Sinai Health System and Hess Corporation, who would have donated equipment and materials towards the programme.

Tropical depression likely from system moving toward Caribbean – forecasters

F

orecasters on Monday said a tropical depression is likely to form in the next week from a system expected to move west, generally toward the Caribbean.

The system emerged off the coast of Africa last Wednesday and, according to an advisory from the USbased National Hurricane Center on Monday, has a 40 per cent chance of developing in the next two days and an 80 per cent chance of developing in the next seven days.

Islands of the eastern Caribbean are now within the cone of the system which at some point is expected to turn northwest.

The National Hurricane

Center said a broad area of low pressure located over the central tropical Atlantic about midway between the Windward Islands and western Africa is producing a large area of disorganised showers and thunderstorms.

“Satellite data indicate

that the low-level circulation continues to become better defined and, since environmental conditions are expected to remain conducive for further development, a tropical depression is likely to form within a few days,” the advisory stated. (Jamaica Observer)

18

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023

guyanatimesgy.com

Regional

Restart of Venezuelan Govt Amazon River falls to lowest & Opposition talks could level in over a century lead to US sanction relief amid Brazil drought

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V

e n e z u e l a ' s Government and Opposition plan to resume long-suspended talks on today, and Washington is ready to ease sanctions if President Nicolás Maduro commits to an internationally-monitored election next year, multiple sources said on Monday.

The US has long said it would lift some sanctions in exchange for democratic concessions from Maduro, but the announcement offered the first concrete schedule in nearly a year for Government-Opposition talks.

President Joe Biden's Administration has been shifting toward increasing US engagement with Caracas on issues from energy to immigration to political reform, away from former President Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign.

Initial steps would involve significant but limited sanctions relief for now, possibly removing some restrictions on Venezuela's banking sector, the sources said, adding that further relaxation would depend on whether Maduro organises fair elections that meet international standards.

The negotiations, meant to provide a way out of Venezuela's long-running political and econom-

Elvis Hidrobo Amoroso, Head of Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE), addresses the media after a meeting with Jesus Maria Casal, President of Venezuela's Opposition's National Primary Commission, in Caracas, Venezuela, September 25, 2023 (Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria photo)

ic crisis, will take place in Barbados. Maduro, a socialist President since 2013, is expected to run for re-election but has not yet formalised his candidacy. His Government has banned prominent Opposition figures from running.

Maduro's representatives and the Opposition are expected to sign an election agreement today, and the US would quickly follow with authorisations related to Venezuela's oil business, two people in Washington familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.

Any US action would come only after an agreement under which Maduro commits to a presidential election date and lifting of the bans on Opposition candidates, these two sources

said.

One source in Washington said initial sanctions-easing steps could be announced within hours of the Barbados signing if the US was satisfied Maduro has fulfilled his commitment at this stage.

Among the steps under consideration is restoring Venezuelan banks' access to the global financial system, which could facilitate further oil-related transactions, the source said.

The US State Department celebrated the announcement of the return to talks but did not mention sanctions relief.

"The United States will continue its efforts to unite the international community in support of the Venezuelan-led negotiation process," it said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Mexico will help, provide oil to Cuba, Lopez Obrador says

M

exico will help Cuba, including providing it with oil, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday.

Mexico began regularly shipping crude oil to Cuba at the end of the first quarter of this year. Since then, it has shipped about 2.8 million barrels to the island, which suffers from frequent pow-

er outages and fuel shortages, according to independent data.

"However we can help the people of Cuba, we're going to do it," said Lopez Obrador in a regular press conference.

He said Mexico did not have to request permission from any foreign government to aid Cuba, which he said suffered from an "inhu-

mane and unjust" embargo.

"If they tell us, 'Sell us oil, because we don't have any way of getting it,' of course we're going to do so," Lopez Obrador said, ruling out that the aid could cause friction with the United States.

Cuba was put under a US economic embargo after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. (Reuters)

he Amazon River fell to its lowest level in over a century on Monday at the heart of the Brazilian rainforest as a record drought upends the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and damages the jungle ecosystem.

Rapidly drying tributaries to the mighty Amazon have left boats stranded, cutting off food and water supplies to remote villages, while high water temperatures are suspected of killing more than 100 endangered river dolphins.

The port of Manaus, the region's most populous city, at the meeting of the Rio Negro and the Amazon River, recorded 13.59 me-

D

seriously battered by violence, by corruption and by hate,” he added.

Noboa worked for his multimillionaire father’s sprawling banana empire before entering politics and becoming a surprise qualifier for the run-off election. He will be the country’s youngest-ever president.

He ran on a campaign promising to improve Ecuador’s struggling economy and create jobs. He also proposed using prison ships to house prisoners.

Noboa’s rival, socialist

Luisa Gonzalez, an ally of ex-President Correa, would have been Ecuador’s first woman president.

She had run on a platform of re-introducing social spending – such as free medicine and worker protections – that had been popular during Correa’s decade in power, before he fled the country facing corruption charges.

Noboa won more than 52 per cent of the vote, while Gonzalez had about 48 per cent with more than 90 per cent of ballot boxes counted.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

is much hotter than past droughts."

Some areas of the Amazon have seen the least rain from July to September since 1980, according to the Brazilian Government disaster alert centre, Cemaden.

Brazil's Science Ministry blames the drought on this year's onset of the El Niño climate phenomenon, which is driving extreme weather patterns globally. In a statement earlier this month, the Ministry said it expects the drought will last until at least December, when El Niño's effects are forecast to peak. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Funerals delayed, bodies pile up as Tobago’s Registrar Office remains closed

F

or the past two weeks, funerals in Tobago have been delayed and in many cases halted as dead bodies have been piling up at funeral homes.

In fact, the situation is becoming so dire that people are leaving their deceased loved ones at the hospital’s mortuary in a bid to avoid paying storage fees to funeral homes.

It all stems from the unresolved issue involving the shutdown of operations at the Office of Registrar General’s Department in Tobago, which has been preventing people on the island from accessing death certificates which

are critical to arranging funerals and burying the dead.

On Friday, Chief Secretary Farley Augustine revealed the island’s Registrar General officials have been unable to access the system and so the processing of civil (death and birth certificates); land and company documents have halted.

As a result, relatives of the deceased and officials from Tobago’s funeral homes are among those feeling the pressure.

Another official at the Scarborough General Hospital, who did not wish to be named, told Guardian Media that the situation is

becoming so bad that relatives have resorted to leaving bodies at the mortuary to avoid paying exorbitant refrigeration and storage fees at funeral homes. This buys them time to go to Trinidad and organise death certificates through the Port-ofSpain Registrar General Department.

However, the official said the hospital was prepared for any overcrowding and will use a container bought during the COVID-19 pandemic to store bodies in the event Tobago’s mortuary runs out of space.

(Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Colombia starts peace talks, 3-month ceasefire with largest group of ex-FARC rebels

Daniel Noboa claims victory C in Ecuador election aniel Noboa, heir to a banana empire, will be Ecuador’s next President after defeating socialist Luisa Gonzalez, an ally of exiled former President Rafael Correa.

“From tomorrow, Daniel Noboa starts work as your new President,” the 35-yearold Noboa told supporters during brief remarks in the seaside town of Olon as votes from Sunday’s election were counted.

“Tomorrow, we start work for this new Ecuador, we start working to rebuild a country

tres (44.6 ft) of water on Monday compared to 17.60 a year ago, according to its website. That is the lowest level since records began in 1902, passing a previous all-time low set in 2010.

After months without rain, rainforest villager Pedro Mendonca was relieved when a Brazilian Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) delivered supplies to his riverside community near Manaus late last week.

"We have gone three months without rain here in our community," said Mendonca, who lives in Santa Helena do Ingles, west of Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state. "It

o l o m b i a ' s Government on Monday decreed a three-month ceasefire with the country's largest group of dissident former FARC rebels, launching formal peace talks with the organisation to end its part in a nearly six-decade internal armed conflict.

The ceasefire with the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) will be in force from today until January 15 next year, the decree showed.

"We have little time," Government high peace commissioner Danilo Rueda said at an event in Tibu, a town near the Venezuelan border in an area that has seen frequent clashes between Colombia's military

and illegally-armed groups.

"We have three months to win the hearts of many sceptical Colombians who are questioning this process of building peace," he said.

Rueda did not say why the cease-fire was shorter than the 10 months previously suggested by both sides, but Government delegate Camilo Gonzales said authorities hoped to extend the ceasefire beyond the current deadline.

"We don't need to wait until a final agreement to move forward with partial, immediate agreements which help local people and signal routes for change," Gonzales said.

EMC delegate Andrey

Avendaño also ratified the agreement and called for social-economic and environmental safeguards.

"We came to the table with the hope of reaching important achievements," he said, adding this opened a brief time frame to seek "timely and viable solutions for all Colombian society".

EMC, which split from the now-demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas who accepted a 2016 peace deal, counts some 3530 members – including some 2180 combatants – in regions where drug trafficking and illegal gold mining take place, according to security sources.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

guyanatimesgy.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023

19

Around The World

Gaza aid stuck as Egypt OILNEWS OIL NEWS says Israel not cooperating Oil falls more than E

US$1 a barrel on Venezuela deal hopes

O

il futures fell more than US$1 a barrel on Monday as expectations rose the US and Venezuela could soon reach a deal easing sanctions on Venezuelan crude exports, while traders said the Israel-Hamas conflict did not appear to threaten oil supplies in the short term.

Brent crude futures settled at US$89.65 a barrel, down US$1.24, or 1.4%. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) fell US$1.03, or 1.2%, to finish at US$86.66 a barrel.

Venezuela's Government and Opposition will return to political negotiations this week after nearly a year, the two sides said, while sources said the US has reached a preliminary deal to ease sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry in return for a competitive, monitored presidential election in Venezuela next year.

"The reported deal ... would help to raise the country's oil output from very depressed levels," said William Jackson, chief emerging markets economist for Capital Economics.

"But the sector requires enormous investment to return output to the levels seen only a decade ago," Jackson added. "And this wouldn't materially affect the deficit in the global oil market in the near term."

Both oil benchmarks had surged last week on fears the conflict in the Middle East could widen, with global benchmark Brent gaining 7.5% in its highest weekly gain since February.

Monday's falling prices appeared to "a breather to take in events in the Middle East" as opposed to expected production increases in Venezuela, said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.

"Negotiations with Venezuela could lead to a surge in exports of crude oil that is already in inventory," Lipow said. "But a surge in production is a ways off given the decrepit state of the Venezuelan energy infrastructure."

Traders said the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas so far remained focused in the Gaza Strip.

"It's more of the same on Monday in terms of the conflict in the Middle East being contained from affecting crude oil supplies," said John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital LLC. Israeli air strikes on Gaza intensified on Monday, after diplomatic efforts by the US to arrange a ceasefire in southern Gaza failed.

Russia has also entered the diplomatic fray, with President Vladimir Putin set to hold talks with Iran, Israel, Palestinians, Syria and Egypt.

Heightened tensions in the Middle East may have compounded other risk factors to push prices higher last week, market sources said.

The US last week imposed the first sanctions on owners of tankers carrying Russian oil priced above the Group of Seven's price cap of US$60 a barrel, an effort to close loopholes in the mechanism designed to deprive Moscow of revenue for its energy sales.

"The sudden decision on tightening up of sanctions on ship owners carrying Russian crude over the US$60/barrel limit by the US started to niggle and so did the Russian/Saudi meeting concluded

by President Putin stating that OPEC+ were achieving 'stability,'" said PVM analyst John Evans, referring to the price rises at the end of last week. (Reuters)

gypt said on Monday that Israel was not cooperating with delivery of aid into Gaza and evacuations of foreign passport holders via the only entry it does not wholly control, leaving hundreds of tonnes of supplies stuck.

Cairo says the Rafah crossing, a potentially vital opening for desperately-needed supplies into the Israeli-besieged Palestinian enclave, is not officially closed but was made inoperable due to Israeli air strikes on the Gaza side.

As Israel's bombardment and siege of Gaza has intensified, the territory's 2.3 million residents have been left without power, pushing health and water services to the brink of collapse, with fuel for hospital generators running low.

"There is an urgent need to alleviate the suffer-

ing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza," Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told reporters, adding that talks with Israel had not been fruitful.

"Until now the Israeli Government has not taken a position on opening the Rafah crossing from the Gaza side to allow the entrance of assistance and exit of citizens of third countries."

US officials were hoping that Rafah would operate for a few hours late on Monday, White House spokesman John Kirby said, adding that earlier hopes for opening the crossing had been dashed.

The ongoing war made delivery of aid through Rafah "very difficult", UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Hamas-affiliated radio station Aqsa said Israeli

A view of trucks carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians, as they wait for the re-opening of the Rafah border crossing to enter Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the city of Al-Arish, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, October 16, 2023

shelling hit the Rafah crossing area again on Monday.

The Egyptian side of the border appeared deserted on Monday afternoon, with aid supplies being stockpiled in the nearby city of Al Arish.

Gazans have been un-

der siege since Israel launched its most intense bombardment and blockade ever following a devastating cross-border assault by Islamist Hamas militants on Oct 7. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Ex-Bank of China chairman arrested on bribery charges L

iu Liange, the ex-chairman of the Bank of China, has been arrested on corruption charges, Chinese state media said.

Liu, who led the stateowned bank from 2019 until March of this year, was arrested by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on suspicion of bribery and providing illegal loans, Xinhua said on Monday.

His case has “been transferred to the procuratorate for review and prosecution … and is currently under further processing”, Xinhua said.

Liu’s arrest comes about a week after he was expelled from the ruling Chinese Communist Party following accusations of wrongdoing

by the country’s anticorruption watchdog.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection accused Liu of a range of illicit activities, including illegally granting loans, bringing banned publications into the country and using his position to accept bribes and other perks.

Liu is a prominent figure in China’s financial circles, having previously held senior positions in the central bank and the Export-Import Bank of China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has waged an exhaustive campaign to weed out corruption since coming to power in 2012.

Xi’s anticorruption drive has ensnared a number of prominent financial execu-

Liu Liange, former chairman of the Bank of China, is the latest high-profile figure to be ensnared in Xi Jinping's anticorruption drive

tives at state-owned banks.

Last month, Wang Bin, the former chairman of China Life Insurance, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for ac-

cepting 325 million yuan (US$44.6M) in bribes.

Critics have accused Xi of using corruption charges as a pretext to purge his political rivals. (Al Jazeera)

Two Swedes shot dead in Brussels, Russia returns 4 Ukrainian Belgium raises terror alert to top level children in Qatari deal

T

wo Swedish nationals have been shot dead in Brussels as a football match between Belgium and Sweden was due to take place on Monday evening, Police said, and Belgium raised its terror alert to the highest level.

A man in a video on social media claimed that he was the assailant and that he was from Islamic State.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo confirmed on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that the victims were Swedish, but not their number. The alleged assailant, calling himself

Abdesalem Al Guilani and a fighter for Allah, put the number of victims at three, rather than two.

"I have just offered my sincere condolences to the Swedish PM following tonight’s harrowing attack on Swedish citizens in Brussels," de Croo said on X. "Our thoughts are with the families and friends who lost their loved ones.

As close partners the fight against terrorism is a joint one," he said.

One Belgian newspaper said it was likely that the victims were two soccer supporters. Belgium

were hosting Sweden in a Euro 2024 qualifying match on Monday evening.

The match was suspended at halftime due to security reasons. Further information will follow shortly, UEFA said on its website.

The shooting comes at a time of heightened security concerns in some European countries linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

France is deploying 7000 extra troops onto its streets after a teacher was fatally stabbed on Friday in an attack President Emmanuel Macron condemned as "barbaric Islamic terrorism."

(Excerpt from Reuters)

R

ussia has agreed to return four Ukrainian children to their families, as part of a deal brokered by Qatar.

The youngest is two years old and the oldest is 17.

The repatriation is part of a pilot scheme to return more of the thousands of children taken by Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.

Ukraine says it has identified 20,000 children who it alleges were abducted by Russia.

However, the number of those deported is thought to be much higher.

The International Criminal Court issued an

arrest warrant for Russia's President Vladimir Putin in March, accusing him and his commissioner for children's rights Maria Lvova-Belova of the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children.

Russia insisted that its motives were purely humanitarian, claiming it evacuated hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children to protect them from danger, with top officials scorning the indictment at the time.

The return of the four children will test a scheme worked on by Qatar after it headed talks with Moscow and Kyiv, a diplomat who asked to remain anonymous due to the scheme's sensitiv-

ity told news agencies.

It is hoped that further repatriations would follow if the first was successful, they added.

However, getting the children out of Russia has not been straightforward.

In at least one case a child had to travel home via Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

The BBC has previously found that Ukrainian children in Russia were frequently told there was nothing in their country to return to and were subjected, to varying degrees, to a "patriotic" Russian education. (Excerpt from BBC News)

20

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023

guyanatimesgy.com

DAILY HOROSCOPES

ARCHIE

Let your imagination guide you. The knowledge you gain from observing people doing something you want to pursue will help you move forward with a big decision.

(March 21-April 19)

PICKLES

(April 20-May 20)

Simplify your life, walk away from what you cannot control and put your energy into what matters most to you.

Team up with someone who shares your concerns, and do your best to win meaningful battles.

Mix business with pleasure. Network and talk to experts. The information you receive will help you avoid being manipulated. Innovative thinking will lead you down an exciting path.

(May 21-June 20) Work to fulfill your promises to yourself and others. Talk less and do more.

Actions speak louder than words. What you accomplish today will affect how others view you. Head in a new direction.

PEANUTS (June 21-July 22)

Stick to your plans, regardless of what others do. Use your connections and intelligence to push you in an exciting direction. Let go of what no longer works for you.

(July 23-Aug. 22) Take a deep breath, stay calm and put your energy where it counts. Look for the joy in everything you pursue and make the most out of every situation.

Smile and be positive.

CALVIN AND HOBBES (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Take the initiative to get things done and live up to your promises. Do whatever it takes to keep the peace and get things done. Expand your skills and knowledge.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

SUDOKU

Organize your life and surroundings.

The connections you make will inspire you to change what isn’t working for you. Having an orderly household will energize and inspire you.

(Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Question what others ask you to do and stay true to yourself. Someone will take advantage of your kindness and generosity if you let them. Practice saying no.

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Rely on facts, not on hearsay.

Someone will be eager to feed you false information if you let them. Question everything and get your information straight. Think for yourself.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Claim what belongs to you and keep moving forward. Refuse to let anger rear its ugly head and lead you down a path full of tension and anguish instead of optimism and hope.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Keep your emotions in check and stick to the truth. Go through the proper channels. Take care of unfinished business and doors will open. Seek out supportive people.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023

21

Women’s League Division 1 off to spectacular start …with 40 goals between GDF, Potaro Strikers and GPF

T

he opening weekend of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and Women Football Association (WFA) Women's League Division One witnessed an impressive display of football with a total of 40 goals scored by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Potaro Strikers and the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

on Saturday, October 14 at the GFF National Training Centre (NTC) in Providence, East Bank Demerara.

Abioce Heywood and Glengie Lewis also made a significant contribution with two goals each, while Yeneira Kenswil, Kellyann Niles, Odessa Romeo, and Niomie Williams each scored one goal.

In the opening match of

The GDF Ladies

The GPF team

Guyana Defence Force secured a dominant 13-0 victory against Fruta Conquerors with top scorer Glendy Lewis netting an astonishing five goals

the evening, Potaro Strikers had an impressive game by keeping Santos goalless and scoring a total of 12 goals.

Olivia Oselmo, Solomie Obermuller, and Tytheon

Jones each contributed three goals, while Latoya Williams, Duane Williams and Anis Livan added one goal each to secure the victory.

On Sunday, October 15, the excitement continued as another 15 goals were scored in the match between GPF Football Club and Pakuri Jaguars.

The Guyana Police Force dominated the game with Jennell Edmonson, Melina Larson, and Akeelah

The Potaro Strikers

Vancounten each scoring three goals. Shanic Thornhill and Lakeisha Williams added two goals to the scoreline, while Angelisa Larson and Colette Rutherford contributed one goal each.

“This marks an exceptional beginning for the Women's League Division One. Fans can anticipate witnessing a remarkable level of competition over the coming weeks as teams strive to claim the title of

the inaugural Women's League Division One champions," the GFF noted.

The Women's League Division One comprises seven football clubs, including current and former national players. These clubs are Santos, Potaro Strikers, Fruta Conquerors, Guyana Defence Force, Pakuri Jaguars and Guyana Police Force football clubs.

The champions of the league will be rewarded with a cash prize of

$300,000.

Additionally, the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth-placed clubs will receive cash prizes of $200,000, $100,000, $75,000, $50,000 and $25,000, respectively.

The league is scheduled to conclude on November 11.

The Women's League Division One is a platform for the finest female clubs selected from the nine Regional Member Associations of the Federation.

Australia put World Cup campaign on track after dire Sri Lankan batting collapse SCOREBOARD

Sri Lanka (50 ovs maximum) Pathum Nissanka c Warner b Cummins 61 Kusal Perera b Cummins 78 Kusal Mendis (c)† c Warner b Zampa 9 Sadeera Samarawickrama lbw b Zampa 8 Charith Asalanka c Labuschagne b Maxwell 25 Dhananjaya de Silva b Starc 7 Dunith Wellalage run out (Cummins) 2 Chamika Karunaratne lbw b Zampa 2 Maheesh Theekshana lbw b Zampa 0 Lahiru Kumara b Starc 4 Dilshan Madushanka not out 0 Extras (b 2, lb 2, w 9) 13 TOTAL 43.3 Ov (RR: 4.80) 209 Fall of wickets: 1-125 (Pathum Nissanka, 21.4 ov), 2-157 (Kusal Perera, 26.2 ov), 3-165 (Kusal Mendis, 27.6 ov), 4-166 (Sadeera Samarawickrama, 29.1 ov), 5-178 (Dhananjaya de Silva, 32.3 ov), 6-184 (Dunith Wellalage, 34.5 ov), 7-196 (Chamika Karunaratne, 37.6 ov), 8-199 (Maheesh Theekshana, 39.2 ov), 9-204 (Lahiru Kumara, 40.5 ov), 10-209 (Charith Asalanka, 43.3 ov) • DRS

BOWLING Mitchell Starc Josh Hazlewood Pat Cummins Glenn Maxwell Adam Zampa Marcus Stoinis

O-M-R-W 10-0-43-2 7-1-36-0 7-0-32-2 9.3-0-36-1 8-1-47-4 2-0-11-0

Australia (T: 210 runs from 50 ovs) Mitchell Marsh run out (Karunaratne/†Mendis) 52 David Warner lbw b Madushanka 11 Steven Smith lbw b Madushanka 0 Marnus Labuschagne c Karunaratne b Madushanka 40 Josh Inglis †c Theekshana b Wellalage 58 Glenn Maxwell not out 31 Marcus Stoinis not out 20 Extras (w 3) 3 TOTAL 35.2 Ov (RR: 6.08) 215/5 Did not bat: Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood Fall of wickets: 1-24 (David Warner, 3.1 ov), 2-24 (Steven Smith, 3.6 ov), 3-81 (Mitchell Marsh, 14.3 ov), 4-158 (Marnus Labuschagne, 28.5 ov), 5-192 (Josh Inglis, 33.1 ov) • DRS BOWLING O-M-R-W Lahiru Kumara 4-0-47-0 Dilshan Madushanka 9-2-38-3 Maheesh Theekshana 7-0-49-0 Dunith Wellalage 9.2-0-53-1 Chamika Karunaratne 3-0-15-0 Dhananjaya de Silva 3-0-13-0

A

ustralia chased down Sri Lanka's sub-par 209 with some ease, cantering to a five-wicket win in Lucknow to revive their flagging World Cup campaign. The result leaves Sri Lanka second-last on the table with three losses from t h r e e , and essentially needing only wins f r o m hereon to stand a chance of making it to the semi-finals.

For Australia, it was a victory set up by a tenacious bowling effort, and then capped off by a chase exemplified by its clarity of thought.

Having won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch that stand-in Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Mendis had deemed a "280-300" track, Sri Lanka got off to the ideal start with the opening pair racking up 125 runs.

But a collapse of astounding proportions saw them lose 10 wickets for just 84 runs – the worst such collapse in World Cups since 2011, and

Sri Lanka's worst collapse since their inaugural World Cup game –as they were bundled for 209.

Adam Zampa was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4 for 47, while Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc grabbed two apiece. Though special mention should go to David Warner for two outstanding catches in the deep to dismiss Pathum Nissanka and Mendis, wickets which in many ways catalysed Sri Lanka's downfall. It was also a fielding effort that was a welcome change for Australia, after their opening defeats to India and South Africa had been marked by some uncharacteristically poor catching.

In defence of their total, Sri Lanka, and particularly Dilshan Madushanka, started excellently. Madushanka's first 12 deliveries went for zero runs and two wickets, including a double-wicket maiden. While those two wick-

Josh Inglis took 46 balls to bring up his half-century

ets would see the dangerous Warner and Steven Smith sent packing, Mitchell Marsh at the other end offered Sri Lanka no respite.

Marsh lofted the first ball of the chase, a fullish delivery on off from Lahiru Kumara, back over mid-off and he did not look back. Mahesh Theekshana, brought into the attack as early as the third over after Kumara had been hacked for 15 in his opening over, was taken for a pair of exquisite boundaries, and Marsh repeated the feat in Kumara's next over. The worst, though, was reserved for Dunith Wellalage, who was lashed for three boundar-

ies in his opening salvo.

It took a fine Chamika Karunaratne throw from the deep to dismiss Marsh as he looked for a tight second, but by then a third of the chase had been scratched off, and the game was well in hand.

Josh Inglis and Marnus Labuschagne then put the result beyond doubt with a stand of 77 off 86; though both fell before the finish line, Inglis notched a half-century.

The finishing touches were added by Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, who entered the fray and turbo-powered an already comfortable chase to romp home in the end.

(ESPNcricinfo)

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023

Courts Optical Pee Wee…

Marian, St Pius, West Ruimveldt light up Round of 16 I

t was another day of exciting showdowns at the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground, Carifesta Avenue on Saturday, as eight schools secured their spots in the Courts Optical Pee Wee Under-11 quarterfinals.

Defending champions Enterprise Primary, Redeemer, Potaro, St Stephen’s, Marian Academy, West Ruimveldt and St Pius Primary were among the victors on Saturday and the Courts Optical Pee Wee Under-11 tournament is heading into the nervy knockout stages.

Marian Academy were probably the most impressive on the day, securing a 10-0 victory over Colaaco Primary. Rhys George led the onslaught for Marian with six goals in the 12th, 14th, 18th, 25th, 26th and 33 minutes.

Maxwell Viapree (3rd, 16th) had a double while Shad Waldrond (29th) and Joshua Johnson (39th) netted one

Scenes from the Pee Wee Round of 16 on Saturday last

each.

Also winning in commanding fashion were StPius Primary who defeated Friendship Primary 5-0.

Aaron Vasconcellos scored a double in the 25th and 38th minutes, while Octain Moore (28th), Daniel Chesney (33rd) and Ezekiel Lewis (35th) scored one each.

On the back of a David DeCosta hat-trick in the 5th, 28th and 38th, Redeemer Primary enjoyed a 4-1 victory over Kabakaburi Primary.

Jonathon Ollivierre brought

Redeemer’s tally to four in the 24th and Jamie Thomas netted Kabakaburi’s consolation in the eighth minute.

Potaro Primary eased past North Georgetown Primary 2-1. One goal each from Ezekiel Haynes (10th) and Mark Timmerman (13th) accounted for Potaro’s two, while Vandell Edinboro (17th) netted North Georgetown’s lone goal.

Another close encounter saw St Stephen’s Primary edging St John the Baptist’s 1-0. Kareem Milton was the

lone goal scorer in the 37 minute.

Meanwhile, Den Amstel eased past FE Pollard 2-0.

Kaden Trotman was the lone marksman in the 10th and 18th minutes.

Another team effort from West Ruimveldt Primary ensured a 4-0 win over Tucville.

Teon Francis (3rd), Deshawn Thomas (5th), Eli Bryant (25th) and Dane Vancooten (37th) scored one goal each for West Ruimveldt.

In the final game of the day, it was a win by the slimmest of margins for the defending champions, Enterprise, as they needled St Gabriel’s 1-0. Dontay Kowlessar was the lone goal scorer, finding the back of the net early in the third minute.

The Pee Wee quarterfinal action is expected to go down this Saturday at the same venue. Aside from Courts Optical as the title sponsor, the Under-11 tournament is also supported by Sterling Products, with support from the Ministry of Education.

TT Red Force v CCC: Clash of experience and youth in Hockey League…

Regional Super50 opener GCC Teams, YMCA Old Fort Men, Saints Women bag wins

T

he stage is set, and the anticipation is palpable as the Regional Super50 tournament gets underway with an exciting clash between the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force and Combined Colleges and Campuses (CCC) at Queen's Park Oval today from 09.00h.

This opening match promises a fascinating contrast of experience and youth as the two teams battle for supremacy.

In a significant development, local lads Akshaya

Darren Bravo

mances throughout the tournament.

The Red Force's bowling department, meanwhile, features West Indies stalwarts Sunil Narine and Shannon Gabriel, accompanied by the talented Akeal Hosein. This trio of accomplished bowlers will aim to stifle the opposition's batting and provide crucial breakthroughs.

The CCC side, led by Dowrich, will have their work cut out for them as they face the experienced Red Force.

Frederick Kush finishing off a sweeping team move to make it 1-0. After conceding though, the Saints showed good composure and returned pressure in the midfield.

However, they could not find an answer and halftime saw the score remaining at 1-0 in favour of GCC.

CLASSIFIED ADS Action at the National Stadium

T Akshaya Persaud

Sunil Narine

Isai Thorne

Persaud and Isai Thorne will don the CCC colours under former Test wicketkeeper-batsman Shane Dowrich, who will captain the team.

Persaud has represented CCC before where he scored two half-centuries and took six wickets two seasons ago.

On the other hand, Thorne, a promising West Indies Youth pacer, made a name for himself by grabbing 10 wickets in the recent Under-19 series against Sri Lanka.

In addition to Persaud and Thorne, CCC features a roster of promising young talents, including Jordan Johnson and Test seamer Chemar Holder, alongside Abhijai Mansingh.

This youthful side's potential will undoubtedly be put to the

test against the formidable Red Force.

On the other side of the contest stand the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force, a team boasting a wealth of experience and international exposure. Led by Darren Bravo, who will serve as Captain, and West Indies A captain Joshua Da Silva, his deputy, the Red Force are well-equipped to make a strong start to their campaign.

The Red Force's batting line-up is fortified by the presence of seasoned campaigners, including veterans like Jason Mohammed and Evin Lewis. Their combined experience will be crucial in setting the tone for the team's perfor-

With a majority of their players having international experience, the Red Force appear to be a formidable force in this year's competition. The CCC team's youthful energy and potential will need to shine through as they take on this seasoned opposition.

Cricket fans around the Caribbean and beyond are eagerly anticipating this clash, which sets the stage for an exciting tournament. The Regional Super50 opener at Queen's Park Oval promises a thrilling battle between two contrasting sides, with youth and experience locked in a fierce contest for supremacy.

It's a match that promises to be a captivating spectacle for cricket enthusiasts.

he National Stadium was lit up as the Farfan & Mendes and Woodpecker Products Men’s and Women’s FirstDivision Leagues continued on Sunday, October 15, 2023 with four enthralling games.

The Saints Women started the proceedings as they went on to secure their first win against YMCA Old Fort, going up in the opening minutes with a strike coming from the racket of Kalyra Scott in the 3’ followed by Nyanna Chase with a goal in the 10’ to go up 2-0.

Captain Carolyne Deane managed to put the puck in the back of the net in the 54’, but it was not enough to carry her team over the finish line, with the scoreline reading at the end of the game in favour of Saints 2- 1.

Princessa Wilkie showed her class as she was the star girl for the defending champions GBTI GCC’s victory over Woodpecker Hikers as she scored a double in the 11’ and 43’.

The Pepsi Hikers came into the game against the YMCA Old Fort as they managed to put the puck into the back of the net from Robert France in the 13’.

Despite conceding, the Hikers held their composure as they managed to strike the ball for the two goals from national player Shaquon Favourite in the 24’ followed by Warren Williams in the 33’.

The Bounty GCC men had a close match against Saints men, but held on to run out 2-1 winners. GCC started out with a bang and needed just two minutes to find the back of the net:

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23 Eagles looking for flying start against Volcanoes in Super50 opener A GUYANATIMESGY.COM

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023

s the Regional Super50 tournament kicks off in Port of Spain, Trinidad cricket enthusiasts are eagerly anticipating the opening match between the Guyana Harpy Eagles and the Windward Islands Volcanoes. This fixture promises to be an exciting clash of talent and strategy as these two teams go head to head in pursuit of glory.

Last season, it was Volcanoes who drew first blood, but Eagles were able to secure a win the second time they met. However, it was Eagles who advanced to the semifinals over Volcanoes although they eventually were eliminated by defending champions, Jamaica Scorpions.

Under the new leadership of Veerasammy Permaul, the Guyana Harpy Eagles are looking to make a strong start in the competition. Permaul, a seasoned campaigner in West Indies cricket, takes over the captaincy from the retired Leon Johnson. With 15 years of List A cricket and 102 matches under

Andre Fletcher will skipper Windward Islands Volcanoes

his belt, Permaul’s wealth of experience and previous leadership roles will serve as valuable assets in guiding the Eagles through the tournament.

The Guyana Harpy Eagles boast a star-studded line=up with a slew of West

Indies players at their disposal. However, their focus will be on countering the formidable batting line-up of their opponents.

At the top of the order, the presence of Tagenarine Chanderpaul provides a solid foundation, and with

options like Chandrapaul Hemraj, Tevin Imlach, Kemol Savory, and Kevlon Anderson, the top order looks promising. This line-up sets the stage for Shimron Hetmyer and Sherfane Rutherford to come into their own during

the latter stages of the innings, providing the Eagles with a crucial boost.

Yet, despite the star power on their side, only Hetmyer and Hemraj have managed to notch centuries at this level. Imlach, averaging 33 with three fifties in 19 matches, aims to continue his form from the previous season. In the last campaign, he emerged as the leading run-scorer for Guyana, accumulating 268 runs in seven innings.

Savory, Chanderpaul, and Rutherford, while talented, have room for improvement in their averages, all hovering in the high 20s.

In the bowling department, Guyana Harpy Eagles boast a strong spin duo with Permaul himself, a left-arm spinner, and the off-spinner Kevin Sinclair.

This combination is of West Indies quality and promises to pose a significant challenge to the opposition. The seam quartet of Romario Shepherd, Sherfane Rutherford, Nial Smith, and Quinten Sampson adds depth and solidity to the Eagles' bowling line-up.

On the other side,

the Windward Islands Volcanoes, captained by the experienced Andre Fletcher with Alick Athanaze as his deputy, are not to be taken lightly. The team will be relying on a combination of experienced heads and emerging talents to make their mark in the tournament.

Jeremy Solozano, Sunil Ambris, Kavem Hodge, and Johnson Charles are the key figures with the bat. These players will be tasked with delivering strong performances to put the Eagles under pressure. In the bowling department, Shamar Springer and Shermon Lewis are the most exciting prospects and will, no doubt, have all eyes on them.

The clash between the Guyana Harpy Eagles and the Windward Islands Volcanoes promises to be an exhilarating battle between two formidable teams. Cricket fans worldwide will be eagerly watching as the action unfolds in the Regional Super50, with both sides determined to make a statement on the opening day in Port of Spain.

CWI to invest US$2.5M in prize Golden Jags, the Blue Hurricane monies for regional cricket go at it again today A CONCACAF Nations League…

head of the start of the CG United Super50 Cup, Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced a major increase in prize money and bonuses for teams participating in the tournament as well as other regional competitions – totalling over US$2.5 million over a four-year period.

S

aturday’s encounter was just a taste of what was to come, and today, there will be a showdown of epic proportions at the St Kitts and Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) Technical Centre, as Guyana’s senior men’s national football team look to tighten their grasp on the top spot of their CONCACAF Nations League 2023/2024 group.

In a repeat of their last outing, the Golden Jaguars will face Puerto Rico’s “El Huracán Azul” (The Blue Hurricane) from 16:00h today.

“I feel the preparation has gone good thus far; the guys have been putting in the work during the couple of days for the last game and this game, we have done a lot,” Golden Jaguars Captain Daniel Wilson said on the eve of the clash.

Wilson added, “We can expect an even better performance than the last game because we come together as One Guyana and we are playing to the system and what the gaffer need. I think we should just look forward for a hardworking team.”

Not only do the senior national team have the opportunity to solidify their spot atop Group D of League

Kishore Shallow, said: “The aim is to incentivise our cricketers, which will ultimately result in more intense and competitive cricket. We expect this along with other developmental programmes will help to close the gap between international cricket and our regional tournaments.

These new prize monies rep-

ond-placed team will receive US$100,000.

There is an increase in winnings also for the Women’s CG United Super50 Cup and the T20 Blaze. The winners of the 50 overs will receive US$20,000 next year, with a minimum increase of US$10,000 annually over the next four-year cycle. The run-

Guyana and Puerto Rico will meet again today

B, but maintaining that position could grant Guyana promotion into League A of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Speaking on that prospect was forward Omari Glasgow, who is eager to see himself and team move up.

“I want to see us in League A, we’re like two more wins away from achieving that goal. So, I think after the victory tomorrow (today), we should set a standard that we deserve to be in League A and in the Gold Cup,” Glasgow

shared.

“It means a lot because you get to play against some of the top teams in CONCACAF, like USA, Mexico and those teams.

So, it means a lot to me and to the team and the country,” the sensational forward added about what the achievement would mean to the team.

Guyana currently lead Group D with a full 9 points from 3 games.

Aside from Puerto Rico, Antigua and Barbuda, and The Bahamas are also in Group D.

Regional Four-Day winners the Guyana Harpy Eagles

With the Region’s marquee List A tournament set to bowl off today, there is the incentive for the champions to take home a top prize of US$100,000 as well as the Sir Clive Lloyd trophy when they win the grand final on Saturday, November under lights at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.

The losing finalists will receive US$50,000 while the team that tops the points table in the league phase will also get US$50,000. This is the biggest prize money in the history of the tournament.

CWI President, Dr

resent a significant increase in the reward purse for teams in regional cricket. We firmly believe this will act as a fillip to players’ performances and their pursuit of excellence.

This is part of our investment in the game and those who fly the flag on the field.”

The increase also extends to all senior men’s and women’s tournaments. There is a big boost in the West Indies Championship that will be played in the first half of 2024.

The champions of this traditional “red ball” four-day, First-Class competition will win US$250,000. The sec-

ners-up will receive half these amounts.

The T20 Blaze winners will also be rewarded with an increase – US$10,000 for the winners next year – with further increases annually for the upcoming four years. The runners-up will receive half these amounts.

CWI is finalising a new four-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the West Indies Players Association, which will see further increases for individual players, including a major boost to women’s remuneration.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023

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

Courts Optical Pee Wee…

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Pg 22

Eagles looking for flying start against Volcanoes light up Round of 16 in Super50 opener

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