Guyana Times - Wednesday, August 3, 2022

Guyana, US military discuss importance of regional security cooperation

P14 Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 5089

THE BEACON OF TRUTH WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022

PRICE

2 years in Govt

“Together, we have already accomplished a...says lot” – President Ali development of Guyana has been accelerated Page 3

$80M for infrastructural development at Pigeon Island …squatters to be regularised Page 7

UK High Commissioner applauds Govt for putting women at heart of Guyana’s …as women's entrepreneurial economic growth app launches e-wallet content Page 2

Distribution of “Because We Care" $5.8 billion cash grant begins …“it will go a long way, as a parent I’m grateful for it” – mother of 2 See story on pages 12&13

$100 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Stop overloading trucks – P10 GGDMA to truck operators, trucking services …calls for weight restrictions for trucks, vehicles to be enforced

Charlestown murder

Wanted bulletin issued for suspect

P11

Pork-knocker leads Police to illegal gun P11

P8 NA man found guilty of stabbing brother-in-law to death

…“You have the privilege of being young at the best time” in Guyana’s history – Finance Minister

APNU/AFC to boycott next P16 sitting of Parliament

2 NEWS UK High Commissioner applauds Govt for putting women at heart of Guyana’s economic growth WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

…as women’s entrepreneurial app launches e-wallet content

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uilding the human capital is going to be the secret to Guyana’s success. This is the firm conviction of UK High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller, who pointed out that Guyanese, especially women, must be prepared to reap the benefits of the country’s massive economic growth.

She applauded the Government’s efforts toward building the country’s human resources, which according to her, “is putting women at the heart of this country’s economic growth”.

Miller delivered remarks at Tuesday’s launch-

ing of GTT’s Mobile Money Guyana (MMG) content to HerVenture — a mobile learning application that supports women entrepreneurs to access the skills, confidence, and networks they need to grow their businesses.

Available on Android and iOS platforms, the app provides users with essential business training and support through bite-size lessons, while promoting the user’s confidence to transform their business. The HerVenture app was developed by the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and was launched in Guyana in 2021 thanks to

funding and support from the ExxonMobil Foundation.

MMG, Guyana’s first mobile financial service, was introduced in 2013 and enables users to purchase credit, and send and receive money in addition to paying bills using their mobile phones.

With the country having one of the fastest rates of economic growth in the world primarily due to the massive oil discoveries, the diplomat stressed that Guyanese need to be prepared and ready.

She said, “And you can’t have half the population left behind and that is why having women so involved and so trained is so important.

MMG Guyana Manager, Bobita Ram

Building the human capital is going to be the secret to Guyana’s success. All the different initiatives that are happening are party to that story.”

Simple and easy to use

In praising HerVenture, she said that it is simple and easy to use, adding that it has surpassed expectations. “You have diverse initiatives available for women and for men for them to grow, for them to learn. What I love about the app is that it is easy to use and it is complimentary to so many other initiatives that are happening at the moment,” Miller said as she commended the Government on its various initiatives to encourage women’s development.

Reflecting on her time in Tanzania, Miller said that the African state is famous for its mobile money which

“makes things so much easier and transparent”. Against this backdrop, she was delighted that HerVenture has been expanded to include the mobile money application.

“For countries like Guyana, which are very cashbased economies and particularly for women who don’t have bank accounts, the ability to have money on your phone and to make payments and then to have records of all those payments… So, it’s a mixture of simplicity, it’s a mixture of transparency and it enables women to have businesses and to have those transactions happen.”

Untapped potential

Meanwhile, Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud said that the addition of the MMG content to HerVenture will see a “profusion of women who are jump-

ing into the workforce doing so in an informed way… and doing so in a very empowered way where they are equipped with the tools to start, to grow and to sustain their businesses.”

She expressed that she has always believed that “our women are our untapped potential”.

She said that that belief proved to be true following her Ministry’s launch of the Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN)—a massive programme that seeks to empower women and girls and help them become financially independent. The programme offers free training in information and communications technology, décor and design, graphics, beauty and wellness, professional care, garment and hospitality, and administration.

TURN TO PAGE 14

NEWS

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

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

Wednesday, Aug 3 – 04:00h – 05:30h and Thursday, Aug 4 – 22:00h – 23:30h.

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Wednesday, Aug 3 – 07:00h – 09:00h and Thursday, Aug 4– 08:10h – 09:40h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

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

WEATHER TODAY

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

Winds: South South-Westerly to West SouthWesterly between 1.78 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 08:05h and 20:26h reaching maximum heights of 2.54 metres and 2.5 metres.

Low Tide: 14:00h reaching a minimum height of 0.71 metre.

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COMMODITIES Indicators

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2 years in Govt

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“Together, we have already accomplished a lot” – President Ali

…says development of Guyana has been accelerated The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, on the occasion of the anniversary of its second year in office, has assured that it has kept true to its elections manifesto and that in the coming months there would be more focus on constitutional reform.

In a video statement on Tuesday, President Dr Irfaan Ali spoke of all that has already been accomplished in line with his party’s manifesto, while making it clear that he is cognisant that more remains to be done.

“Together, we have a lot to do. Together, we have already

President Dr Irfaan Ali (centre) and his Cabinet, shortly after they collected their instruments of appointment in August 2020

“Together, we have a lot to do. Together, we have already accomplished a lot. Together, we’ve overcome many challenges... as your chief servant, I continue to dedicate my energies and my life, in service to and for you. Indeed, I’m grateful for the supporters of the party, who took the step to vote for me in that 2020 elections” – President Ali accomplished a lot. Together, we’ve overcome many challenges... as your chief servant, I continue to dedicate my energies and my life, in service to and for you. Indeed, I’m grateful for the supporters of the party, who took the step to vote for me in that 2020 elections,” President Ali said.

“Your vote of confidence in me and the PPP, was a vote to give Guyana the best possible leadership. And I’m faithful to that confidence. And I hope and pray I’m not disappointing you, nor the Government that I lead, is disappointing you in using that confidence to serve all Guyana, in building one Guyana in which prosperity can come to every home.”

According to the President, notwithstanding the challenges, there has also been tremendous progress in areas such as energy, agriculture, infrastructure and tourism, where opportunities abound.

“Every single area that we promised to work on in our manifesto, we’re delivering.

We’re surpassing many targets already in the manifesto. Our housing programme.

Our water development programme. Our job creation programme. Have all accelerated development in this country,” President Ali also said.

Progress

In explaining how it has followed through on its election manifesto, the Government in a statement had meanwhile pointed to its housing programme, which has been expanded. They noted that land allocation, affordable turn-key housing and mortgage facilities are among the countrywide initiatives.

It was also pointed out that efforts have been made

to diversify the traditional agriculture sector and promote value added production.

Other growing industries include tourism, wellness and sports, where new sporting facilities are being constructed countrywide.

There is also the specialty, paediatric and maternity hospital, where the sod was turned only on Sunday. In addition, reference was made to all the new infrastructure being built, including the new Demerara and Corentyne bridges, Silica City and new highways.

“With regards to infrastructure, new interconnecting highways across the East Coast and West Coast, East and West Banks, the Corentyne and the LindenSoesdyke Highway and the Pan-American route to Brazil are all under some phase of development or construction. New bridges across the Demerara and the Corentyne Rivers will fully connect the Guyana Shield and the new modern city earmarked for the Timehri-Soesdyke area.”

According to the Government, the new industrial estates are planned for the East and West Coasts and Linden while natural gas being piped to shore from the offshore oil and gas basin, along with wind, solar and hydroelectric power will comprise a sustainable energy mix to power the country’s economic transformation at lower costs.

In addition to all the social advances and electoral reforms which it noted is well advanced, the Government

also pledged that in the coming months more work would be done on constitutional reform.

“President Ali and the PPP/C Administration have worked tirelessly to commence the process of re-examining our institutional frameworks and constitutional architecture needed to safeguard the integrity of our electoral process and democracy itself. The Government is well advanced with electoral reforms and will transition to broader constitutional reforms in the coming months,” the Government said in its statement.

“Guyana’s transformation will succeed, while the ballot box and the revised provisions of the Representation of the People Act will continue to be the basis of our democratic system for elections, and the integrity of the electoral process which produces a Government that reflects the will of the people, will remain sacrosanct.”

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022

Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, marketing@guyanatimesgy.com

President Ali: Leading, setting example

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uesday marked two years since the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government took office in Guyana after months of turmoil as the now Opposition – APNU/AFC- attempted to hold onto power despite losing the General and Regional Elections in 2020.

Those are months that will before be edged in the minds of Guyanese, who will never forget the long democratic battle as Guyanese stood up with the support of many nations around the world to stop an attempt to derail the correct result of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.

Despite the rocky circumstances and the five-month fight to save Guyana’s democracy, President Dr Irfaan Ali having taken office in August 2020 has underlined the need for peace and harmony in Guyana, and has pledged that he is committed to working with all stakeholders to achieve this objective.

Over the past two years, he has been consistent with this call and more so his launch of the “One Guyana” initiative has cemented his commitment to act in the best interest of all Guyanese, whether or not they supported his party. This could only mean well for Guyana.

But notably, over the past two years Dr Ali had been leading by example and has been present and at the forefront of numerous community outreaches and meetings. This type of energy and exuberance displayed by the President has shown and proven that he has taken a very proactive approach in managing the affairs of the State.

We believe that Dr Ali has entered the presidency at a very opportune time. As someone who has served in the Cabinet and the Public Service, he has been exposed to a range of challenges, and he has a full grasp of the kind of leadership that is needed at this time.

On Tuesday the president reminded that notwithstanding the challenges, Guyana has a far way to go despite the tremendous progress in the areas of energy, agriculture, infrastructure and tourism, housing.

To quote him: “Together, we have a lot to do. Together, we have already accomplished a lot. Together, we’ve overcome many challenges... as your chief servant, I continue to dedicate my energies and my life, in service to and for you. Indeed, I’m grateful for the supporters of the party, who took the step to vote for me in that 2020 elections.”

Over the past two years work has commence and, in some instances, concluded in a range of policies and programmes upon which Government brought relief to Guyanese to ease the cost of living which has been triggered by global issues.

Over the weekend at the Emancipation celebrations the President reminded that no Guyanese will be left out, none will be overlooked. This speaks to the issue of having the political will to move Guyana forward.

Our political leaders have a crucial role to play in building and development of Guyana. The President is certainly leading by example, and we are very pleased to see this happening. We expect all the others to follow suit, and put country first above partisan interests. The elections have long gone, and it is time to start focusing on improving the lives of all citizens.

We had said before that the March elections have once again reminded us of how polarised the nation is; and perhaps now, more than ever, there is need for everyone across the political divide including civil society groups, religious leaders to renew their efforts at forging harmony in the country.

Our political leaders have a crucial role to play in building peace and ethnic harmony in Guyana.

Guyana is now once again on a democratic path. We have yet another glorious opportunity to fashion a society that is modern, inclusive, progressive, and one in which all citizens could be proud.

These little ones smiled brightly as they shared a photo with Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Oneidge Walrond, who was in the community to assist in the distribution of the Government's "Because We Care" cash grants to parents of nine schools in the Sophia community (A-E Fields) on Tuesday morning (Tourism Ministry photo)

PNC always sought to divide Guyana along racial lines

Dear Editor, PNC and its affiliates have always sought to divide this nation along racial lines using all kinds of strategies – appealing to ‘kith and kin’ sentiments; every incident that happens they convert into racial configurations; misrepresenting facts; skewing situations to fit their divisive narratives, and even resorting to spewing groundless allegations and telling outright lies to mischaracterise PPP/C leaders and their actions and pronouncements.

Those who refuse to remain in mental bondage to the PNC’s pretentious charlatans; refusing to buy into their destructive, anti-national gerrymandering and divisive, ruinous politics; and embarking on self-improvement /empowering pathways, are viciously attacked and branded ‘house-slaves’, etc.

But those who eschewed the divisive politics practised by the PNC and its cohorts and opened their minds to seek a better life for themselves and their descendants have discovered that PPP/C administrations govern even-handedly and create self-improvement opportunities through job and wealth-creation facilitation and diversity of programmes that target everyone, especially the vulnerable, voiceless and dispossessed.

After the catastrophic PNC-endorsed “Buxton Uprising”, one enterprising and progressive young Buxtonian - MBoya Wood - organised a meeting between diasporic Buxtonians,

accompanied by village leaders who were sickened by the events that had stigmatised their village and its residents as criminals and terrorists, and then President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo. That trust engendered a multiplicity of benefits to that community that had previously spurned developmental initiatives proffered by the PPP/C Administration. Among the various areas of assistance were infrastructural construction and repairs; D&I interventions; farmlands cleared, and farming implements and other assistance availed; the Tipperary Hall rebuilt and furbished with various mod-cons, including a computer centre among other things; a steel band was provided instruments; women were given small-business grants through the Priya Manickchand Women of Worth (WOW) initiative; etcetera.

Recently, when the PNC/ APNU+AFC and their cohorts again tried to encourage an uprising among their supporters in their various political enclaves, they were rejected, except for a few hardliners. Instead, Guyanese rejected their destructive, divisive political manoeuvrings for the pursuit of a One Guyana, as is being promulgated by the PPP/C Administration.

Through countrywide Cabinet outreaches, where concerns of individuals and communities were advanced, the Government, in graduated deliverables, has addressed, as a continual process and through prioritising

developmental exigencies, the concerns expressed by Guyanese across every divide in equal measure, including Buxtonians and more recently at Melanie Damishana.

Thus, major infrastructural works are scheduled for the Buxton/Foulis area, among which include the rehabilitation of 16 bridges and the construction of a farm-tomarket road to provide access to farmers. This was a commitment made by Public

Works Minister Bishop Juan Edghill at a meeting with residents at Tipperary Hall, Buxton last Thursday.

Similar announcements were made during the outreach at Melanie Damishana as well.

I urge Guyanese to continue to reject the divisive politics of the PNC/ APNU+AFC and elements of its lunatic fringe.

Yours truly, Alvin Hamilton

Avoiding to call out PNC/APNU/AFC on lies, division Dear Editor, Timothy Jonas of ANUG appeared as a guest on a local talk show, and in expressing his views on the need for constitutional change and inclusive governance - which for some reason is only promulgated when the PNC (now APNU+AFC) finds itself in the Opposition Jonas hypothesised that the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board should have 3 persons from the Opposition, 3 from the Government, and one neutral as a means of ensuring inclusivity and preventing cries of corruption and discrimination.

This he posited that, once replicated across the board, including in the awarding of contracts in the oil and gas

sector, would ensure a role in the governance structure for the Opposition, and their supporters will not be shut out from benefitting from contracts.

This is all nice-sounding, but when looked at from a logical and real-politick perspective, not only is it foolish and impractical, but when Mr Jonas was asked to provide an example of this model at work anywhere in the US, UK, Canada, India, or anywhere else in the world, he was unable to.

Why? First off, what would be the purpose of holding an election if the losing party still gets to shape policies and even disrupt the developmental agenda of the party whose plans and promises won it the election? CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022

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Conventional wisdom and scientific data demand COVID-19 booster doses Dear Editor, It is not nice reading that “Many persons remain vulnerable (as they are still) without (the) COVID-19 booster shot.

This was the word from Dr Frank Anthony, Minister of Health. For me, it is quite mind-boggling that such a situation is still prevailing. I am most worried, and with reasons too.

First, in response to the evolving SARS-CoV-2 virus and variants of concern, leading nations are recommending booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines to provide increased protection across their population.

For example, as per the Canadian Immunization Guide (CIG), the intent of a booster dose is to restore protection that may have decreased over time to a level that is no longer deemed sufficient in individuals who initially responded adequately to a complete primary vaccine series.

Doses of the COVID-19 vaccine after the primary series are described as booster doses. However, over time, the nomenclature of this additional dose

could evolve as the optimal number of doses in a primary series is better understood. Evidence is emerging all the time that vaccine effectiveness against infection and COVID-19 disease decreases with time, and the effectiveness of currently authorised COVID-19 vaccines against the Omicron variant and sub-variants is decreased. Therefore, booster doses are recommended for eligible individuals, to obtain stronger protection.

So, my question is: What are we waiting for?

Another chaotic scenario, wherein people are scrambling for their lives? We need to wake up and respond positively to the overwhelming factors that demand the booster doses.

Secondly, we need to realise the evidence on the risk of myocarditis/pericarditis after a booster dose of an mRNA vaccine is limited, but appears to be lower than the already rare risk after the second dose of the primary series, but higher than after the first dose.

So, my question yet again is: Why is there stubborn-

ness and hesitancy?

The concerned Health Minister is advising that many persons still remain at high risk of COVID-19 if they have not taken the booster shot. This is exactly what I have just pointed out, and I did not appeal to local information or sentiments. When they are infected, there is a great possibility of developing a severe form of the novel coronavirus, and hence hospitalisation or death.

I add, too, that if it becomes widespread at any time, the healthcare system would be unnecessarily taxed, and this can be pre-empted by simply adhering to common sense and scientific data that demand a positive response.

I read that, so far, about 70,000 persons have returned for their booster shots. The ‘but’ is that “Unfortunately, a lot of people who remain vulnerable to COVID, who can end up with a severe form of COVID, many of them have not come back for their booster doses.”

This is coming from the Minister of Health himself, Dr Frank Anthony.

He added that this is most unfortunate, since a percentage of those persons, if they get infected with COVID, can end up in the hospital; and in some cases, some of those persons may die.

Editor, to reinforce this call to get the booster doses, I point out that there is a direct link in the high number of daily cases to the new Omicron subvariants that are circulating, specifically the BA.5, and reinfection.

Another worrying trend is that older persons and those with comorbid conditions are coming into the hospitals, as they are the more susceptible group.

Let me close with the sombre words from the Ministry of Health: “That’s one of the challenges we have. A lot of persons are getting reinfected…There are persons, believe it or not, who still have not taken vaccines. Now, while we’re seeing a few cases like that, we also have persons who took vaccines, but the last dose was probably more than a year ago. If you want to be up to date with protection

against COVID-19, every six months you would have to take a booster.” Hence my plea: “Get the booster

doses ASAP.” Yours truly, H Singh

Avoiding to call...

FROM PAGE 4

And I mention disrupting because, under Mr. Jonas’s model, the losing party can stymie the awarding of contracts for major developmental projects at NPTAB using their 3 nominees.

Another point to note is the contradiction in the positions of Mr. Jonas and his party. On one hand, they are calling for the scrapping of the 3,3+1 Carter/Price Formula at GECOM, which worked as it was intended to for decades, until the PNC/APNU+AFC got into office. On the other hand, they are pushing the very 3, 3+1 formula for NPTAB and the oil and gas sector as the panacea for perceived corruption and discrimination.

But what the behaviour of the David Granger Administration and the PNC/ APNU+AFC has shown over time is that we can have the most well-intentioned formula or laws, they will simply do as they please when it suits them. One only has

to look at their rejection of 18 names put forward by the then PPP/C Opposition for the Chairmanship of GECOM, or their sudden inability to calculate the majority of 65 after losing the no-confidence vote, to see how impracticable Mr. Jonas is being.

But what I believe Mr. Jonas is doing is avoiding calling out the PNC/APNU+AFC on their politics of outright lies and division. I believe that, in the case of Mr. Jonas, fear is the driving factor. He is afraid of the attacks from the PNC/ APNU+AFC US-based lunatic fringe. So, in order to circle around having to call them out, he has resorted to the familiar ‘inclusivity’ mantra, which was in a comatose state between 2015 and 2020. The difficulty came about when he was challenged to explain how this inclusivity would work.

Guyanese are not fools, though.

Sincerely, Thomas Cole

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:30 22:30 23:30 00:00

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022

Page

Foundation

◄

Dividing mixed numbers To divide mixed numbers, change each mixed number into an improper fraction. If only one number in your division problem is a mixed number, change it to an improper fraction. If both numbers in your division problem are mixed numbers, change both to improper fractions.

CONTINUED FROM TUESDAY

Exercises: Divide

Soon afterwards, as they were passing by a farmyard, they saw a cock perched upon a gate, and screaming out with all his might and main.

"Bravo!" said the ass; "upon my word, you make a famous noise; pray what is all this about?" "Why," said the cock, "I was just now saying that we should have fine weather for our washingday, and yet my mistress and the cook don’t thank me for my pains, but threaten to cutoff my head tomorrow, and make broth of me for the guests that are coming on Sunday!" "Heaven forbid!" said the ass, "come with us Master Chanticleer; it will be better, at any rate, than staying here to

By

the

Brothers Grimm

have your head cut off! Besides, who knows? If we care to sing in tune, we may get up some kind of a concert; so come along with us." "With all my heart," said the cock: so they all four went on jollily together.

They could not, however, reach the great city the first day; so when night came on, they went into a wood to sleep. The ass and the dog laid themselves down under a great tree, and the cat climbed up into the branches; while the cock, thinking that the higher he sat the safer he should be, flew up to the very top of the tree, and then, according to his custom, before he went to sleep,

looked out on all sides of him to see that everything was well. In doing this, he saw afar off something bright and shining and calling to his companions said, "There must be a house no great way off, for I see a light." "If that be the case," said the ass, "we had better change our quarters, for our lodging is not the best in the world!" "Besides," added the dog, "I should not be the worse for a bone or two, or a bit of meat." So they walked off together towards the spot where Chanticleer had seen the light, and as they drew near it became larger and brighter, till they at last came close to a house in which a gang of robbers lived.

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

$80M for infrastructural development at Pigeon Island …squatters to be regularised

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President Ali as he talked to residents

resident Dr Irfaan Ali on Tuesday led a team of Government Ministers into Pigeon Island on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), where it was announced that Pigeon Island squatters will be regularised and that $80 million has been set aside for

time been embarking on outreaches across the country, allowing residents to come face to face with Ministers of Government and air their concerns.

And on Tuesday, the second anniversary of the Government’s tenure in office, was no different.

Zulfikar Mustapha, Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall and Minister within the Housing Ministry Susan Rodrigues.

“The first two years, we did a lot of work reaching out and listening. But we also had to get the transfor-

infrastructural work in the community.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has for some

President Ali led a team of Ministers into Pigeon Island that included Attorney General Anil Nandlall, Agriculture Minister

mative agenda on the road.

The big projects. And you’re seeing now that we’re turning the sod for all the big projects. So, by the end of

A section of the gathering at Pigeon Island

this year, the transformative agenda will be well on its way,” President Ali said.

“So, while that is well on its way, we have even more time to focus on community development and people development. And that is the agenda. Here in this community, there are three priorities from what was communicated by you. One is the finalisation of the regularisation process. That is ongoing. And once we all cooperate, that will be completed by year end.”

Other priority issues are the road networks and the drainage issues in the community. President Ali explained that a sum of $80 million has been set aside for the necessary infrastructural projects.

“I want to say to you today, that we’re setting aside $80 million for the infrastructure development and upliftment of Pigeon Island.

As I speak to you, the advertisements are out in the newspaper for the con-

struction of new roads in the new area being regularised. These roads, we want to involve you in the development.”

“We want you to take responsibility. So, we are going to work to find the technical skilled people in this community. And we’re going to design a project in which we will give you a concrete service road in this community… when I leave here today, the technical people will remain. And they will work out with you how exactly (this will be done),” the President said.

According to President Ali, the Government will seek to involve the residents as much as possible in these projects. He said that the technical people have 72 hours to complete their designs for the concrete resurfacing of the community.

“So, they will be working in here, throughout the days and nights, to complete the designs. In about three weeks, the contracts

for [the road] going up to the sea dam should be awarded.

Within three, four weeks.

That is separate from the resurfacing.”

Other initiatives for the community referenced by the President include a community job programme and improvements to the playfield. During the outreach, various residents also brought their concerns to the head table of Ministers.

Since coming to office, the President Ali-led Government has made it clear that it is aiming to fulfil its manifesto promise of distributing 50,000 house lots over the next five years.

The Housing Ministry has also said it would work with other State agencies to make more land available for housing development.

Both Ministers Rodrigues and Housing Minister Collin Croal have said that the Government wants to ultimately eliminate squatting.

8 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NA man found guilty of stabbing brother-in-law to death Two years on...

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New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) man was on Tuesday found guilty by a jury of the 2018 unlawful killing of his brother-in-law.

Jermaine Barclay called “Jumbo”, 37, was found guilty of killing 29-year-old secu-

rity guard, Nkomo LaRose on December 18, 2018, at Stanleytown, Region Six. Barclay, who was initially charged with the capital offence of murder, was found guilty of the lesser count of manslaughter by 12 jurors who deliberated for over two hours.

N Killed: Nkomo LaRose

The convict was further remanded and will be sentenced on September 6.

State Counsel Nafeeza Baig appeared for the prosecution while Senior Counsel Murseline Bacchus represented Barclay.

Reports stated that the two men were imbibing on the day in question when

Convicted killer Jermaine Barclay

an argument broke out between them over a woman.

Things quickly turned violent after they armed themselves with a knife and cutlass and threatened to kill each other.

LaRose’s body was later discovered in a drain with stab wounds. (G1)

…Quo vadis?

o…your Eyewitness won’t ask from where we’ve come, but rather, “Where are we going?” If you need to be reminded about the former question, then something’s really wrong with you! Those who’ve “forgotten” the Mingo Manoeuvre with the stained bedsheet (how in the world did a GECOM bedsheet get stained?); the riots in West Berbice; the riot at Mon Repos, and all the huffing and puffing in-between, are suffering from some real big cognitive dissonance!!

So, we’ll move on to what might lie ahead. But hold it!!

Isn’t the future, to a large extent, determined by what came before?? Like the speed of the ball towards the boundary being determined by the force with which it was hit before??

Just can’t get away from the past, can we?? One fella who should know said, “The past isn’t dead; it ain’t even past”!!

So OK…tell you what: your Eyewitness won’t DWELL on the past, but just ALLUDE to it, to discern any possible causative factors!!

So, let’s cut to the chase and start with what we all know runs everything in Guyana – politics. And this one’s easy – we’re in for a long, very hot summer!! And yes, dear reader, we do have “summer” in Guyana. Haven’t you noticed all the “summer sales” and “summer holidays” and “summer clothes”?? The Emancipation Day celebrations have fuelled the stage for the Opposition supporters’ angst of being robbed by the planters for four hundred years, and its “payback time”!

But hold it!! Isn’t that supposed to be “reparations time” against the folks who extracted all their labour free?

The Dutch and the Brits?? And we’ve launched a movement to get those reparations?? Surely, we’ve all read Rodney’s “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa” and applied it to Guyana - since we were directly plundered even before Africa!? “Underdeveloped” means not only did they not “develop” us, but they actually left us worse off compared to countries that weren’t colonised! Think Japan. And then whatever they left was nationalised by Burnham and destroyed??

Anyhow, that won’t cut any ice with the Opposition fire-stokers, who’re working overtime to give us a repeat performance of Desmond Hoyte’s “slow fyaah; mo fyaah” circa 2000. As your Eyewitness is pecking away at this piece, the grand Opposition rally at Parade Ground – and specifically “Burnham’s Court in Georgetown – is scheduled this afternoon. And we can expect that all the demagoguery spouted on Emancipation Day will be ratcheted up to incendiary levels.

Parade Ground – we’ve been reminded – was the scene of African Guyanese being executed and heads stuck on pikes. And this will be analogised to the PPP’s actions in the present. Hyperbole is the stock-in-trade of rabble-rousers!!

And then will come the “morning after”!! A city of clerks…? …the US speaks Two years ago, the US played a great role - along with the EU, Commonwealth, Caricom, OAS, etc – in assuring there was “fair play” after the PNC tried to rig the elections once again!! The PNC myrmidons claim that the Yanks “installed” the PPP, which is therefore an “illegal, illegitimate cabal” – like the PNC of 1964-1992, your Eyewitness guesses!! They’re ironically in raptures over the messages coming out during Pres Ali and his team’s meetings with members of the US Administration last week in Washington. They’re stretching!!

Secty of State Antony Blinken tweeted, “Guyana remains a key partner as we work to bolster food and energy security, promote shared prosperity and inclusive growth, strengthen transparency, and safeguard the environment”. VP Kamala Harris noted that she “looked forward to continuing her collaboration with President Ali in promoting inclusive democracy, economic development, and security for all Guyanese…”

“Inclusive democracy” is the common term, and American practice is the standard!!

So, where’s the PPP going amiss? …still truculent Opposition Leader Norton’s under pressure to keep his street cred – against extremists who feel they “put him there” because of his old rep.

Trapped by the past…even though he knows the times have changed!! He should speak to Corbin.

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

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

10 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Stop overloading trucks – GGDMA to truck operators, trucking services …calls for weight restrictions for trucks, vehicles to be enforced

T

he Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) has called on truck operators and trucking services to stop overloading their trucks, which causes major damage to roadways leading to mining communities.

This call comes days after a section of the Mabura trail, which leads to Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) became inaccessible after it collapsed.

On Tuesday, the GGDMA said that gold and diamond

mining continue to be one of the main economic drivers of development in Guyana and safe, reliable and efficient passenger and cargo services are critical to the success of mining operations.

They called on service providers to make a concerted effort to further improve their overall service, adding that truck operators and trucking services must stop overloading their trucks especially since it is the rainy season.

“When the roads become

deplorable there is more down time and hence increased the operation cost to miners and other hinterland road users, who now have to pay double to have their fuel and other supplies delivered to their camps. Additionally, many of our miners’ trucks and other equipment are being severely damaged due to these deplorable roads. This once again puts additional financial pressure on the miner as unnecessary maintenance cost,” the GGDMA said.

An overloaded heavy-duty truck caused the collapse of a bridge at Pirara, Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) in 2021

The GGDMA has also called on the Government to enforce the established Road Users’ Agreement which stipulates and monitors the weight restrictions for trucks/vehicles transporting fuel and other supplies at key points such as Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) and Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

The mining body noted that some trucking services are damaging the roads, due to the excessive weights as stipulated in the Road Users’ Agreement, in the interior that have to be used by miners. “We also call on the Government to enforce the Road Users’ Agreement which is fully supported by the GGDMA to encourage a culture of responsible use of interior roads.”

Last week a section of the Mabura trail, which leads to Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) collapsed

NEWS

11

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Pork-knocker leads Police to illegal gun D

etectives in Regional Police Division One (Barima-Waini) who were probing the alleged threatening behaviour committed on a 38-year-old shopkeeper of Baramita, North West District, were led to an unlicensed firearm by the 22-year-old suspect after he was taken into custody.

The incident occurred on Sunday last, Police say. It is alleged that Romel Alonzo, a pork-knocker, was taken to the Baramita Police Station on Monday, where he was questioned about his alleged threatening behaviour committed against the shopkeeper.

As a result of information divulged, the suspect along

with several Police ranks went to a bushy area at Barama Line, where a small black bulky plastic bag was found on the ground.

The bag was retrieved, and when opened, cops said it contained a .32 pistol without a magazine. As such, the 22-year-old man was immediately escorted back to the Police station

along with the firearm.

The suspect remains in custody as investigations continue.

Over the past few months, the Guyana Police Force along with the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) have been unearthing a number of firearms and ammunition.

Only on Monday CANU an-

Charlestown murder

Wanted bulletin issued for suspect

P

olice are looking for a man in relation to the murder of 32-year-old Rodwell Phillips also called

“Fishie” of Broad Street, Charlestown, Georgetown.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) on Tuesday said

they are currently hunting 30-year-old Alex Nedd, who may have knowledge of the man’s death.

On Monday, a bloodstained cutlass was found next to Phillips’s motionless body. A chop wound was also seen to the centre of his chest, one to his rightside face, one to his left side back, and one to his left foot.

Phillips was pronounced dead on the scene and his body was taken to the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home awaiting post-mortem.

However, according to the dead man’s relatives, the man was reportedly chopped to death by a man, and there were several eyewitnesses to the crime. In fact, the Police related that they questioned several persons and are yet to review the CCTV footage.

Guyana Times was later informed that Phillips and the alleged suspect were involved in a heated argument sometime back and this might have led to a scuffle.

It is believed that Phillips’s death is connected to the old grievance.

Dead: Rodwell Phillips

Since the murder, Police have been looking for Nedd, who continues to evade the cops.

Phillips leaves to mourn his two young sons, parents, and siblings. The family continues to call for justice for the man’s brutal death.

The firearm that was found in Baramita

nounced that within the last four months they seized six firearms along with matching ammunition for five of them.

Among these illegal weapons seized was a shotgun. This is in comparison to no firearms seized in 2021.

For the first half of the year, CANU said they made a total of 14 seizures involving weapons, consisting of 13 firearms and one 1 crossbow. According to them, these seizures have made a positive impact on the Unit’s initiative in creating a safer country. (G9)

12 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 20

Distribution of “Because We Care

…“it will go a long way, as a paren …“You have the privilege of being young at the b

By Amar Persaud

T

he Education Ministry on Tuesday commenced the distribution of the “Because We Care” cash grant and uniform allowance at various schools across the country.

Education Minister Priya Manickchand, who officially launched the distribution of the cash grant at the Belle West Primary School in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara), explained that the cash grant was part of the People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s elections manifesto.

“So, this cash grant is born of a promise we made, we started this small then, in 2014 we did a very similar cash grant. Every student across Guyana from nursery, primary to secondary and at that time it was $10,000 and we said and we said that it would raise repeatedly every year until it reached $50,000. Unfortunately, we left Government and it stopped, it was abolished and the reason it was abolished was that they didn’t think it made sense. Up to now the Opposition is saying it’s a foolish waste of money.”

“We promised you when we asking for your support during the elections, we promised for you to give us that support we will restore this grant and we will increase the grant and the moment we came into office in August 2020…in that first budget we said that in 2021 we will restore the cash grant and in 2021 each person got $19,000 and this year every student is getting $30,000,” she explained.

“So, we’re launching the cash grant here in Belle West Primary but even as we do this here in Region Three, all across Guyana, Regions One to 10

just like yourselves are receiving cash grants,” the Education Minister added.

The Minister further highlighted that the cash grants will accountably be distributed due to the rigorous process they have taken to guarantee that it does.

“How did we arrive at your child’s name? We didn’t come here and pick this one and that one, we said to the teachers, tell us who is on the register of each classroom…and we didn’t stop there. [It] has to be submitted to the level head, there’s a supervisor for every level, the supervisor has to verify that list with the register, then Deputy Head Mistress, then the Head Mistress, then the Region, then it comes to the Ministry of Education.

That is how we’re deciding who will get the grant.”

Further addressing concerns raised by teachers of the provision of meals and amenities during the distribution exercise, Manickchand related that all regions have come up with a different approach.

“This year Region Three has decided to give a stipend to teachers, Region Six has taken the decision to provide lunch for teachers, Region Eight has taken the decision to provide lunch for teachers, Georgetown asked the schools if they would provide lunch and they said yes and those schools that said they couldn’t do it, the Georgetown Office to help them with it, so I’m very grateful to the good teachers who will turn up and do this,” she highlighted.

The Government will distribute a total of $6 billion “Because We Care” cash grants and school uniform allowances this year.

Each child in the school system wil which represents $2 and $5000 as an al unform.

Comme

Meanwhile, Gu Tuesday spoke with waiting to receive t the Campbellville S Georgetown, most o ed the initiative b the Government.

“It will be a goo school clothes and carries a price and on,” Walter Milling has three children ent school levels, ex Menawattie Be while the cost of i some extent due to of living, the cash ful and contribute t penses for the schoo dren.

“Personally, as a ally think it’s helpf will go a long way grateful for it, that this point because of living it’s not su it will help but you your pocket for th she said Guyana Time Graham’s Hall Prim parents uplifting shared their opinion “I think it’s a g cause of the incre ing having this gra a great deal becau

13

NEWS

022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

e” $5.8 billion cash grant begins

nt I’m grateful for it” – mother of 2 best time” in Guyana’s history – Finance Minister

e public and private ll receive $30,000, 25,000 as the grant llowance for school

endable

uyana Times on h parents who were their cash grants at Secondary School in of whom commendbeing continued by

od thing cause the d the school shoes school bags and so gton, a father who currently in differxplained. entick related that items has risen to the rise in the cost grant will be helpto reducing her exol needs of her chil-

a parent of two I reful…it will help, it y. As a parent, I’m t’s my take on it at of the rise in cost ufficient but again u are not going into he entire amount,”

es also visited mary School, where the grants also n on the initiative. great initiative beease in cost of livant will do parents use they will get to

purchase added school items for them to be able to return back to school and the children are the future so with them coming to school we know that there is a great Guyana ahead,” Kannadasan told Guyana times.

“From my part, this initiative is a great one and a great help for parents that they can now be able to offset some of the expenses, if not all but a greater part of it to help their children so that they can be back to school, ready to their work with their supplies so on so I just want to say thanks to the Government for affording us this opportunity,” Chevon Thomas related.

Privilege to be young

Over at Queen’s College, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh told students that there has never a better time in the entire history of Guyana to be a young person than the current period.

He explained that young people now have vast opportunities as Guyana is undergoing a remarkable transformation, with a rapidly changing economy, not only due to oil and gas, but also due to major development in several other sectors and with the country's economy being the fastest growing in the world.

“You have the privilege of being young at the best time in the history of our country,” Dr Singh told students at his alma mater. He advised them further to “seize that privilege and the opportunities that it brings and convert it in not only achieving greatness in terms of personal success but playing your part in achieving greater success in terms of your family, the community in which you belong and for the country for which you are a part.

You are the future of Guyana. Your successes will determine the success of our country. You are literally the Guyana of tomorrow. I encourage you to do all you possibly can to ensure that future is as bright as it could possibly be. We, your Government, will play our part to all we can to ensure the realisation of this bright future.

This cash grant represents one part of our commitment to ensuring you realise that vast potential.”

He also emphasised that Government’s commitment is to ensure that it creates the necessary conditions for today’s generation of young Guyanese to have a good quality education. He added that the cash grant disbursement would go a long way in meeting the critical needs of students in order for them to purchase stationery, uniforms and other school supplies.

The Minister explained further that Government would continue to assist in all the areas it is required to, such as construction of schools, the provision of text books and other school supplies and in ensuring that quality teachers are placed at each school. He also pointed out that the Government intends to keep its commitment of moving the “Because We Care” cash grant to $50,000 by the end of its current term.

In 2021, Government disbursed a total of $3.3 billion in “Because We Care” cash grants to public school students countrywide. The cash grants were also extended to students attending private schools where each child received $19,000 amounting to a total of $284.8 million. This amount was increased to $30,000 this year.

14 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyana, US military discuss UK High Commissioner applauds... importance of regional security cooperation

FROM PAGE 2

UK High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller

Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin III and US Southcom Commander General Laura Richardson joined Guyana’s Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn, Guyana Defence Force Chief-of-Staff (ag) Brigadier General Godfrey Bess, and defence and security officials from across the Americas at the 15th Conference of Defence Ministers of the Americas (CDMA) in Brazil.

Minister Benn, Brigadier Bess, General Richardson and Department of Defence Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Western Hemisphere Daniel Erikson met to discuss the importance of regional security cooperation. Established in 1995, the CDMA is the Western Hemisphere's premier defence forum for strategic-level engagement among defence and security officials in the Americas. (US Embassy photos)

“The applicants [for WIIN] just came in and the partnerships that we would have had and the success stories we would have heard.

I feel that this kind of momentum we have started on, must not be stopped because it needs to filter down from women to girls. So, that the girls who will be the women of tomorrow understand the myriad opportunities that they have at their disposal.

And they can tap into those opportunities and catapult themselves…” Dr Persaud said.

In addition to the free WIIN training programme, she said that the Human Services and Social Security Ministry has launched the WIIN in Business Programme and a Female Business Incubator. The latter, she pointed out, focuses specifically “on inviting women to us to be able to meet those stakeholders who can advance their ability to progress in business.”

“Through those interventions, we would have been able to encourage women to have at their fingertips from NIS to GRA to all of the banks to GTT to so many companies. Because when a woman gets into business, she can sometimes spend months to sometimes years trying to find who to go to and

Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud speaking at the launch

where to go and who to speak to and what kind of guidance she needs to have. We have brought all of those players into one room,” Minister Persaud explained.

She disclosed that the WIIN mobile app has advertised 700 women-owned businesses for free and the next step the Ministry is working on is to get people to shop through the application. Quoting her mother, Dr Persaud therefore encouraged women to “seize the opportunity”.

Phenomenal growth

General Manager for MMG Guyana, Bobita Ram said that the MMG application has grown significantly since its launch back in 2013.

“Today, we process around $1.4 billion in payments and we have around 100,000 customers who use us,” she revealed.

Ram said that MMG is expecting phenomenal growth ahead in an economy and in a worldwide industry that is growing. In partnering with other stakeholders to add MMG to the HerVenture app, she said that she and her team looked at the barriers and challenges facing women entrepreneurs as they seek to grow their businesses.

“We identified ways in which Mobile Money can not only create wealth but also provide them with the tools to increase their efficiency. As you navigate…you will see that we have highlighted how to pick the right Mobile Money provider, how to determine the best way to implement Mobile Money into your business and how to overcome the challenges when you are first implementing Mobile Money and how to maximise the use of Mobile Money to grow that

business.”

The General Manager noted that MMG has partnered with SoL (Guyana) and the Demerara Harbour Bridge to offer cashless payments for gas and toll, respectively.

Like Miller, Ram also congratulated the Government on the many initiatives for women’s development. In closing, Ram urged policymakers and corporate Guyana to put their “support solidly” behind MMG because “it’s the wave of the future; it’s safe, reliable, cashless.”

ActionINVEST Caribbean Inc (ACI) is the local delivery partner for the HerVenture app in Guyana. Already, over 3000 persons have downloaded the mobile app. (G1)

15 Ramsammy’s Ruminations Statements served on accused EMANCIPATION DAY 2022 IS in Vlissengen Rd fatal accident PROOF THAT ONE GUYANA P IS NOT A FOOL’S WISH NEWS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

P

resident Irfaan Ali and his Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo showed again this past week that they are leaders ready for all seasons. President Ali led a strong Guyana Government delegation to meet representatives of the most powerful Government on earth between Monday and Friday this past week. This past weekend, while the Vice President engaged the diaspora in New York, President Dr Leslie Ramsammy Ali was leading his Government Ministers in Emancipation engagements in various parts of the country.

On Sunday night, July 31st, he was leading the celebration at an emancipation concert at State House on Main Street. He sang with the band, he danced with participants, he was leading the celebration as one of the citizens. President Ali was not there for people to just honour him; he was there as a Guyanese citizen, equal with everyone. It was clear that people embraced him, people saw him as one of them, people saw him as their President, as a friend, as a Guyanese citizen in a Guyanese celebration.

On Monday, August 1, Emancipation Day 2022, President Ali journeyed to New Amsterdam for the traditional Emancipation Day celebration. The Leader of the Opposition and his delegation were also invited. President Ali came, engaged his Guyanese sisters and brothers. He came to be with our people, not just as their leader, but as one who celebrated a very important day, one that remembered the victory more than 186 years ago, when slaves finally won their freedom.

Aubrey Norton also came, but he did not try to engage the Guyanese people. He, instead, sought to keep our people divided. He spoke briefly and reminded people that we are politically divided, he maintained, even in this very important celebration, his confrontational attitude. He showed no room for healing, no interest in unity, no commitment towards ONE GUYANA. After his remarks, he and his delegation left the celebration.

President Ali and his delegation stuck around, engaged people, took pictures, celebrated with the masses, his sisters and brothers. For him, there was no room for adversarial politics. This was a day we celebrated as Guyanese, this was a day of reflection on the struggles that brought freedom, a day for remembering and embracing those who gave their lives, their blood and sweat, for freedom.

In 1962 and 1963, when Guyana was still in the middle of struggling for another kind of freedom, freedom from colonialism, Cheddi Jagan, the leader of our country then, the leader of the PPP that today has given us leaders like Irfaan Ali and Bharrat Jagdeo, had suggested August 1 as Guyana’s Independence Day, as a recognition of the heroic struggles of our ancestors for freedom; as a legacy to those struggles; as enshrining in Guyana’s past, present and future the rightful place of the struggles for freedom, and ending of humanity’s greatest shame – the enslavement of a proud people.

Burnham and the PNC did not join Cheddi in recognising this day, and in so doing betrayed the Afro-Guyanese, betrayed all those who sacrificed for freeing slaves in Guyana and elsewhere. Instead, Burnham and the PNC proposed May 26. Why Burnham chose May 26 is beyond many of us, and remains a mystery.

May 26 remains an infamous day, a day of shame for Guyana, a day in which one ethnic group - Indo-Guyanese - living in what is today Linden, were brutalised, many killed, many raped and beaten. Two days were chosen as possible Independence Day, one chosen by Cheddi Jagan, which is a day Guyanese can be proud of; and the other chosen by Forbes Burnham, which is a day of shame for Guyana.

Regardless, Independence Day is now celebrated in Guyana by all Guyanese. We have moved on, even if for a large section of the population, they will never forget the unholiness that day also signifies. Similarly, even though it signifies the freedom of slaves, all Guyanese celebrate. President Ali led the celebration. He was with the citizens.

President Ali once again showed his willingness to put aside political tension when he approached Norton and extended his hands in a gesture of friendship. But Norton refused again to show any sign of being cordial and working together. His whole delegation, on a day when Guyanese were celebrating together, refused to be part of the people. Norton failed to recognise that he and his party are out-of-step with the Guyanese people.

President Ali has inspired people beyond the PPP supporters. People want ONE GUYANA. While President Ali is gathering even more mass support, Norton and his other leaders are alienating their own supporters, who want ONE GUYANA. While the PNC and the AFC bash the Government over a number of cash-transfer programmes, President Ali and the PPP Government are even more aggressive in pushing for citizens to benefit. This week, distribution of the Because We Care cash grant of $30,000 for each school child began.

Every family with a child in school benefits. More than 202,000 children will receive more than $6.1B over the next two weeks. About 50% of these children are from families who would have voted for Norton and the PNC/ AFC. When Norton and the PNC/AFC knock this programme, they alienate their own supporters. At the same time, President Ali garners more goodwill, making the ONE GUYANA movement more and more possible.

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

rosecutor Attorneyat-Law Latchmie Rahamat has disclosed some statements on defence lawyer Siand Dhurjon in the matter involving his client, who is charged with causing death by dangerous driving. Roberto Narine, 37, of Peters Hall, East Bank Demerara (EBD), was released on $200,000 bail in May over causing the death of former national squash player Ian Mekdeci.

The accident happened at the intersection of Vlissengen Road and Sandy Babb Street, Kitty, Georgetown. When the case came up on Tuesday before City Magistrate Leron Daly, Rahamat disclosed part of the statements, with the remainder to be served on the defence by August 8.

Narine has pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on April 30, he drove motor jeep PTT 4136 in a manner dangerous to the public, thereby causing the death of 27-year-old Mekdeci.

Before Senior Magistrate

Dead: Ian Mekdeci

Clive Nurse, Narine is facing a charge of driving under the influence.

He was granted $20,000 bail after denying the allegation. He was also slapped with a charge for driving an unregistered vehicle but was fined $20,000

by Magistrate Nurse after pleading guilty.

Bail was granted to him on the causing death charge with conditions for him to lodge his passport with the court and for him to report to the Alberttown Police Station until his trial ends.

Mekdeci died in the wee hours of April 30, following the two-vehicle collision. His friend, 31-year-old

Sheik Baksh, of Dowding Street, Kitty, was hospitalised after the crash.

The accident occurred at the intersection of Sandy Babb Street and Vlissengen Road, in the vicinity of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Camp Ayanganna.

Police have said that the accident occurred at about 02:15h and involved motor car PXX 4592, driven by Baksh, and motor jeep PTT 4136, driven by Narine.

The jeep was proceeding along Vlissengen Road, while the motor car was travelling along Sandy Babb Street. At the time of the accident, the driver of the motor car was reportedly crossing the intersection on the green light when the driver of the jeep failed to stop, thus causing a collision.

Mekdeci and Baksh sustained injuries to their bodies and were picked up by an ambulance in an unconscious condition and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Baksh was admitted as a patient to the Emergency

Charged: Roberto Narine

Unit of the hospital, suffering from a broken left arm, a laceration to the head, and a punctured left lung.

Mekdeci, on the other hand, was pronounced dead on arrival. A breathalyser test administered on the driver of the jeep proved that he was way above the legal limit of alcohol consumption, the Police reported.

Mekdeci was a squash player who had participated in the Georgetown Squash Association-organised Squash League. In 2019, he performed exceptionally well in the Bounty Farm Handicap Squash Tournament. (G1)

40-chamber walk-in $60M mortuary commissioned at GPHC

T

he Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has commissioned its newly constructed 40 chamber walk-in mortuary refrigerator and refurbished autopsy room.

On Tuesday, the health institution said that this development comes on the heels of the hospital’s ongoing efforts to improve the quality of healthcare being offered to patients and their relatives.

The project, which cost some $60 million, was awarded to C&L Construction Inc, and was primarily aimed at transforming the previously dilapidated mortuary into a dignified space for bereaved families to spend time with their deceased loved one in an appropriately designed facility.

“The new space features a walk-in mortuary refrigerator with 40 chambers, and revamped autopsy area with 2 fixed tables and 5 mobile trolleys, and an expanded reception and waiting area. The renovated area affords a more conducive and organised space for storage and for the hospital’s pathology personnel to undertake post-mortem examinations,” GPHC said in a release.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (ag) Robbie Rambarran noted that the refurbishing of the mortuary and autopsy

The new 40-chamber walk-in mortuary

area is a significant development for the GPHC as the hospital works to improve the standard of care at all levels, including end of life.

“The new, calming space for bereaved families provides a refined viewing space with quiet ante-rooms where relatives may first see their deceased loved one. This is an often overlooked, but important consideration for grieving families, and we hope that the new mortuary provides some added comfort for bereaved persons.”

16 NEWS APNU/AFC to boycott next sitting of Parliament WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

T

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton during the rally

he A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) held a rally on Burnham Court on Tuesday, where they promised to boycott the next sitting of Parliament while also calling for a clean voters’ list before the next elections and cash transfers from the oil wealth.

During the rally, speakers such as Professor David Hinds made the call for the Government to use a portion of the revenue from Guyana’s oil earnings to directly transfer wealth to Guyanese, including those in perceived APNU strongholds.

Meanwhile, AFC Member of Parliament (MP) Juretha Fernandes in her

contribution to the rally made a call for a clean voters’ list before the next elections. And when Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton came on stage, he backed both of these calls, while repeating a call he has previously made for the removal of Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh.

“We have to have a clean election list… every observer team that came here said we need a new list. We need a clean voters’ list… as part of this clean list campaign, we have to make it clear that Claudette Singh must go,” Norton told the crowd.

GECOM has already conducted a Continuous Registration Exercise in order to update the List of

Electors and pave the way for the hosting of Local Government Elections (LGE). GECOM has said that this registration exercise is of crucial importance to first-time applicants.

These are regarded as those persons who were 14 to 18 years old when they were registered during the 2019 House-to-House exercise.

GECOM is looking to have an updated voters’ list in place by October, in order for the LGE to be held. The last time GECOM conducted Continuous Registration was in 2019, in preparation for the March 2020 General and Regional Elections.

More than $750 million has been set aside in Budget 2022 for the preparations to be undertaken by GECOM for the hosting of LGE this year. This money is part of an overall $4.1 billion allocation to GECOM in Budget 2022, and was examined and approved by the National Assembly during its consideration of the 2022 Budget Estimates.

On the economic side of things, Norton said that his party wants targeted cash transfers to every household, including those in the APNU/AFC stronghold.

“We need people centred development that put resources into small business and micro business, so more of our people can become business people,” Norton said.

Boycott

Meanwhile, in the wake of the National Assembly’s decision to suspend eight APNU/AFC Members of Parliament for their associa-

clear. They have suspended eight of our Members of Parliament. They have a parliamentary session on Monday. Well, they will talk to themselves. They will speak to themselves,” Norton said.

In his address, Norton claimed that the MPs were not afforded a hearing.

Last month, the National Assembly adopted a report from the Parliamentary

A section of the gathering

tion with the infamous mace grab, Norton also promised that the Opposition will be boycotting the next parliamentary sitting on August 8.

“We have to be very

Committee of Privileges, which recommended the suspension of Opposition Chief Whip Christopher Jones, Ganesh Mahipaul, Sherod Duncan, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Annette

Ferguson, Vinceroy Jordan, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, and Maureen Philadelphia over their conduct in the House on December 29, 2021.

Chief Whip Jones, Mahipaul, Duncan and Singh-Lewis have been suspended for four consecutive sittings each over their attempts to disrupt the passage of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Bill and ignoring the authority of the Speaker on December 29, 2021.

MPs Ferguson and Jordan are suspended for six consecutive sittings over severe and egregious violations by removing the Parliamentary Mace from its rightful position, not only damaging the object, but also injuring and assaulting a staff of the Parliament Office.

Meanwhile, SaraboHalley, who entered the Communication Control Room of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre and destroyed several pieces of audio-visual equipment, is suspended for six sittings.

A d d i t i o n a l l y , Philadelphia is facing a suspension for six consecutive sittings for verbally assaulting a Parliament staff.

17 Soesdyke residents encouraged to advance unity, oneness NEWS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

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inister within the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy is reminding Guyanese to use the freedom they currently enjoy to bring unity and oneness rather than suppressing the rights of others.

He was speaking on Monday night as part of the week-long Emancipation celebrations held at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara.

The Minister urged residents to celebrate in such a way that their freedom of expression does not seek to damage society and its reputation.

He lauded the struggles of our African ancestors that led to the abolition of

Minister Kwame McCoy engages residents during the celebrations

slavery in Guyana in 1838.

“We must not use the freedom to deny the rights that others should be enjoying, we should use the freedom that we have to make sure that we can find ways around, in fact us-

ing the lessons of our foreparents, the struggles that they took against the slavery movement…those lessons should be used to make us a better society and a better people,” he said.

Child infected with Marburg virus dies in Ghana

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child who contracted the highly infectious Ebola-like Marburg virus in Ghana has died, a World Health Organisation official has said.

The death on Tuesday brings the total number of fatalities in the country to three since Ghana registered its first-ever outbreak of the disease last month.

The outbreak is only the second in West Africa, after the first was detected last year in Guinea.

The dead child, whose gender or age were not disclosed, was one of two new cases reported last week by the WHO. “Last week I mentioned the two additional cases.

One is the wife of the index case and the other one is the child of the index case and the child unfortunately died, but the wife is still

alive and improving,” WHO doctor Ibrahima Soce Fall told reporters.

The virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with bodily fluids, surfaces and materials, the WHO said.

So far, the Ghanaian Health Ministry has only reported three confirmed

cases and further testing remains to be done on a fourth suspected case, Fall said.

The first two cases, in southern Ghana’s Ashanti region, both had symptoms including diarrhoea, fever, nausea and vomiting, before dying in hospital, the WHO said previously.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

After deadly flooding, Kentucky residents face high temperatures, power outages

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ast week's flooding has killed more than three dozen people in eastern Kentucky, the Governor says – and stifling heat will soon compound the challenges for people who are without power and stranded by washed-away roads and bridges.

Temperatures in the region today and Thursday will climb into the 90s, and because of the humidity it will feel close to 100 degrees, CNN meteorologists say. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the area from noon Wednesday to 20:00 Thursday.

"It's going to get really, really hot, and that is now our new weather challenge," Governor Andy Beshear said in a news conference Tuesday morning.

The flooding, which began early Thursday when heavy rain hit an already saturated region, displaced scores

of people from their homes, wiped houses from their foundations, snatched away entire livelihoods including farms and businesses, and left residents with catastrophic damage to their properties, vehicles and other belongings.

At least 37 people have died in the flooding, Beshear said Tuesday. The death toll is expected to go up, the Governor said.

Beshear for days has said numerous people are unaccounted for, in part be-

cause cell phone service was lost – and because the flooding took out rural roads and bridges that are in some cases the only access point for communities in this part of Appalachia.

Finding the missing isn't the only difficulty. Many people are stranded because of the washed-out roads – and there's a desperate need to either deliver supplies to them or move them, a resident of flood-hit Knott County says.

(Excerpt from CNN)

Mccoy encouraged residents not to follow a path of division.

He explained that Guyanese must use the lessons of their ancestors to gain the confidence of will, noting that these lessons hold great relevance to the future of Guyana.

This, he added, will allow Guyanese to achieve the “One Guyana” concept put forth by President, Dr Irfaan Ali. “It is by us being able to take the lessons from the struggle and apply it to our own selves and our community and our country that we’ll be able to move faster and quicker not only to a

One Guyana but a Guyana in which all of us will be able to capitalise and to benefit from its wealth,” the Minister is quoted as saying by DPI. McCoy reiterated Government’s support for initiatives that will contribute to community enhancement and individual wealth.

He pointed out that the PPP/C Government will ensure all citizens have access to equal opportunities irrespective of gender, ethnicity, or place of residence.

“We in the People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government are not about changing the lives of some

and leaving some behind… we are about changing the lives of every single group and every single Guyanese regardless of where you reside,” he said.

Additionally, the Minister assured residents that the East Bank of Demerara will not be excluded from the Government’s programmes and initiatives as massive developments will be seen along this corridor.

Further, he said all Guyanese must work together to sustain unity and work towards the ideal of developing oneself, community, and the country as a whole.

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guyanatimesgy.com

Regional

Brazil reports 1st monkeypox Mexico’s anti-inflation subsidies come with US$28B price tag death outside Africa

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razil, along with Spain, has reported one death from monkeypox in what are thought to be the first fatalities linked to an outbreak of the disease that began in early May. In Brazil, the patient who died was a 41-year-old man.

The Health Ministry said he also suffered from lymphoma and a weakened immune system.

He had been admitted to hospital in the south-eastern city of Belo Horizonte and died from septic shock after being taken to the Intensive Care Unit.

“It is important to underline that he had serious co-morbidities, so as not to spread panic in the population. The death rate is very low” for monkeypox, said Minas Gerais Health Secretary Fabio Baccheretti.

Brazil’s Health Ministry has recorded close to 1000 monkeypox cases, mostly in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states, which are

The monkeypox virus has been found in 78 countries since early May, according to the World Health Organisation [File: Rick Bowmer/AP Photo]

also in the country’s southeast. Along with the United States and Canada, it is one of the countries that has been most affected by monkeypox in the Americas.

Early signs of the disease include a high fever, swollen lymph glands, and a chickenpox-like rash.

Meanwhile, Spain is one of the world’s worst-hit countries, with 4298 cases of the virus, according to the Health Ministry’s emer-

gency and alert coordination centre.

“Of the 3750 (monkeypox) patients with available information, 120 cases were hospitalised (3.2 per cent) and one case has died,” the centre said in a report on Friday.

A Health Ministry spokesperson declined to give further details on the patient who died. An autopsy is due to take place.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

ubsidies from the Mexican Government to combat rising inflation in the country have cost some 575 billion pesos (US$28.04 billion) this year, officials said on Tuesday, adding that these have helped ease the pain of ordinary people.

The majority of that money, totalling 430 billion pesos, has gone to subsidising gasoline prices, officials said, speaking alongside Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at his regular news confer-

ence.

Another 73 billion pesos went toward domestic energy subsidies, which the Government increased after the war in Ukraine drove up prices on the world market.

The officials said some 69 billion pesos went to "food security," partially due to a May plan to boost production of basic foodstuffs such as corn, rice, and beans, and maintain prices on goods such as white bread.

Despite the measures,

inflation has reached 8.16 per cent in the first half of July, official numbers showed.

It has fuelled speculation the country's central bank, known as Banxico, will again hike interest rates. Analysts forecast that inflation will reach 9.5 per cent by the end of the year.

But officials on Tuesday argued that inflation would have been 2.6 percentage points higher without the measures. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Power, gas supply disruptions slam Venezuela's oil exports in July

Child, 11, among 7 shot in Trinidad

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rinidad Police are investigating an incident in Malick, in which seven people, including an 11-year-old girl, were shot.

Reports indicate that around 22:15 Monday, a

group of men were liming in a yard at Ninth Street, Sixth Avenue Malick, when a vehicle stopped in front of them.

Two men came out of the car and fired several shots toward the group be-

fore fleeing the scene.

The seven who were shot were taken to hospital and treated for their injuries.

No one was killed in the incident. (Trinidad Guardian)

Maya rulers' ashes turned into pelota balls – expert

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Descendants of the Maya have been trying to revive the ball game

ome Maya rulers may have been incinerated and their ashes mixed with rubber to make the balls used in the game of pelota, an archaeologist says.

Burnt human remains uncovered at the ruins of a Maya city have led to a new theory about the death rites of the ancient civilisation.

Archaeologist Juan Yadeun Angulo came up with the hypothesis after finding urns containing human ashes, rubber, and roots at a Maya temple in Mexico.

Pelota is among the oldest team sports.

Yadeun, an archaeologist with Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), has been studying a recently-uncovered crypt underneath the Sun Temple at the Toniná archaeological site in southern Mexico.

Inside the underground crypt and its antechamber, archaeologists found 400 urns containing the mixture of human ashes, coal, rubber and plant roots.

Yadeun believes the crypt was used to burn the bodies of the dead in a religious ritual.

The ashes were then added to other organic material to make the heavy balls used in pelota, the team game played in Mesoamerica thousands of years ago, the theory goes.

The Toniná archaeological site may not be as wellknown as that of Mayan ruins in Palenque, but it is an impressive complex built on a hill in the jungle of Chiapas.

Among the constructions preserved to this day is the sunken ballcourt where the Maya played pelota. (Excerpt from BBC News)

An oilfield worker walks next to pipelines at PDVSA's Jose Antonio Anzoategui industrial complex in the state of Anzoategui, April 15, 2015 (Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins file photo)

Outages disrupting Venezuela's power and gas supplies to State-run energy firm PDVSA hit July oil exports, contributing to a 27 per cent fall from the previous month, according to Refinitiv Eikon vessel tracking data and the company's internal documents.

Oil sales from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member have zigzagged this year despite receiving supplies of diluents from ally Iran, as PDVSA's aging infrastructure, lack of investment, and US sanctions have continued to limit output and exports.

In July, a power outage and a gas pipeline explosion cut service to PDVSA's crude-blending facilities and the Jose terminal complex, forcing the shutdown of two heavy-oil upgraders and reducing production of exportable crude blends, the documents showed.

A total of 29 vessels departed from Venezuela carrying 460,323 barrels per day (bpd) of crude and refined products and 252,000 metric tonnes of petroleum coke and methanol, according to the data. The figures imply a 27 per cent fall from the previous month and a 38 per cent decline versus July

2021.

Most shipments were bound for China directly or through trans-shipment hubs such as Malaysia, the Eikon data showed.

Low inventories of Venezuela's lightest oil grades, mechanical issues at upgraders and the prolonged use of the Jose terminal's berths for taking Iranian imports also affected exports.

The disruptions came amid the country's first oil shipments to Europe in two years, following US authorisations in May to Italy's Eni and Spain's Repsol. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Bermuda records driest July in almost 40 years

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he Bermuda Weather Service (BWS) has confirmed that last month was this sub-tropical island’s driest July in almost 40 years.

The BWS recorded less than one inch of rainfall – 0.97 inches – during the month, which made July the driest month since 1984 when 0.9 inches were recorded and the third driest in recent history.

The driest July in BWS records, which began around 70 years ago, was

1975, when just 0.74 inches of rain fell on the island.

BWS’ acting Director, Michelle Pitcher said on Monday that July was “unusually dry” owing in large part to a strong Bermuda-Azores high which allowed little rain to reach Bermuda, a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic.

“We continue to wait for the gradual weakening of the high which will allow for more robust features to impact us,” she said.

April, May, and June had also run “a bit dry”, Pitcher said, with rainfall recorded at 3.8 inches, 3.5 inches and 3.7 inches respectively, leaving overall rainfall so far this year more than seven-and-ahalf inches below normal.

Water-trucking firms have reported a surge in demand for deliveries to top up dwindling levels of water in tanks which collect rainfall from specially-designed white roofs on houses. (CMC)

guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022

19

Around the World

OILNEWS OIL NEWS G7 mulls options to restrict Russian oil profits

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he Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations is looking at blocking the transportation of Russian oil among other options to deprive Moscow of bumper revenues amid its invasion of Ukraine, unless it heeds a price cap.

In a statement released by Britain, G7 Foreign Ministers said they were considering "a comprehensive prohibition of all services that enable transportation of Russian seaborne crude oil and petroleum products globally, unless the oil is purchased at or below a price to be agreed in consultation with international partners."

"In considering this and other options, we will also consider mitigation mechanisms alongside our restrictive measures to ensure the most vulnerable and impacted countries maintain access to energy markets including from Russia."

The G7 is made up of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States.

Many countries have imposed sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation", but key oil consumers China and India have stepped up imports of discounted Russian barrels to record levels.

Despite Russia's oil exports hitting their lowest levels since last August, its export revenue in June increased by US$700 million month on month due to higher prices, 40 per cent above last year's average, the International Energy Agency said last month.

Western leaders have proposed addressing that through an oil price cap to limit how much refiners and traders can pay for Russian crude - a move Moscow says it will not abide by and can thwart by shipping oil to states not obeying the price ceiling.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pitched the idea of the price cap to Asian leaders on a foreign tour last month and told Reuters she had held "encouraging" talks with India.

Some traders and oil market analysts have expressed doubts a price cap would work as Russia has found ways to ship its oil to Asia without the use of Western ship insurance.

Moscow could also stop exports of some oil altogether, leading to a further spike in energy prices G7 members have scrambled to find ways to plug energy shortages and tackle soaring prices while sticking to their climate commitments amid the tensions with Russia.

"As we phase out Russian energy from our domestic markets, we will seek to develop solutions that reduce Russian revenues from hydrocarbons, support stability in global energy markets, and minimise negative economic impacts", the G7 statement said. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Ukraine war: Russia accuses US of direct role in Ukraine war

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ussia has accused the US of direct involvement in the war in Ukraine for the first time.

A spokesperson for Moscow's Defence Ministry alleged the US was approving targets for American-made HIMARS artillery used by Kyiv's forces.

Lt Gen Igor Konashenkov said intercepted calls between Ukrainian officials revealed the link. The BBC could not independently verify this.

There was no immediate comment on the allegation from US officials.

Russia previously accused Washington of fighting a "proxy war" in Ukraine.

"It is the Biden Administration that is directly responsible for all rock-

et attacks approved by Kyiv on residential areas and civilian infrastructure facilities in settlements of Donbass and other regions that caused mass deaths of civilians," Konashenkov said.

HIMARS is a multiple rocket system which can

launch precision-guided missiles at targets as far as 70km (45 miles) away - far further than the artillery that Ukraine previously had.

They are also believed to be more accurate than their Russian equivalents.

In April, Foreign Minister

China slams Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit as “extremely dangerous”

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hina has condemned the visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan as “extremely dangerous”, warning that the trip was a threat to stability in the region.

Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late on Tuesday on a trip she said demonstrated the United States’s solidarity with the self-governed island, which China claims as part of its own territory.

Washington does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but is bound by US law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

The US politician explained her reasons for visiting Taiwan in an editorial published in the Washington Post minutes after she arrived on the island.

“We cannot stand by

Komodo dragons: Indonesians strike over entry price hike

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ndonesian tourism workers have gone on strike over a dramatic hike in the price of tickets to see Komodo dragons.

Visitors will now be charged 3,750,000 rupiah (£206.40) to visit the main islands in Komodo National Park - up from 200,000 rupiah (£11) before.

The Government hopes to limit visitor numbers and protect the endangered lizards from overexposure to humans.

But local workers say it will scare off tourists completely, causing their income to dry up.

Indonesia is home to around 3300 rare Komodo dragons, according to Reuters news agency. The world's largest lizard has razor-sharp teeth, a venomous bite, and grow to a length of three-metres (10 feet).

Their unique, dinosaur-like appearance attracts busloads of tourists from all over the world, with 220,000 flocking to Komodo National Park in 2019 to see the endangered species in the flesh.

The local government hopes that the raised ticket prices will reduce that number, helping return the islands to their rightful owner - the dragons.

A HIMARS system

Sergei Lavrov said US President Joe Biden's decision to supply Ukraine with billions of dollars’ worth of arms meant "NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy".

"War means war," the 72-year-old warned.

Throughout the conflict in Ukraine, Russia has been accused of numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Last week, Ukraine accused Moscow of bombing a prison in separatist held Donetsk to cover up allegations of torture.

And the BBC has documented allegations of torture and beatings of Ukrainian prisoners by both the Russian military and security services.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

There are fewer than 3,500 Komodo dragons left in the wild, according to conversationists

In response, 700 local workers who depend on tourism are going on strike until the end of August.

Servianus Setiawan, a nearby tour operator, said the plans threatened locals who survived off the tourism industry.

Local governor Viktor Laiskodat agreed that information about the fare increase could have been communicated better, but said the 18-fold price hike would still be going ahead, AFP reported.

The move is the latest in a string of attempts by local officials to limit visitor numbers to the island - in the hope of protecting the endangered dragon species.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

Pelosi is greeted by Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu as she arrives in Taipei, Taiwan

as the CCP (the Chinese Communist Party) proceeds to threaten Taiwan – and democracy itself,” she wrote in the opinion piece.

Pelosi – the highest-ranking US official to travel to Taiwan in 25 years – arrived

at Songshan Airport in downtown Taipei on a flight from Malaysia to begin a visit that risks pushing US-Chinese relations to a new low.

China immediately condemned Pelosi’s visit, with the Foreign Ministry saying

it seriously damages peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

The visit “has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-US relations, and seriously infringes upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”, it said in a statement.

Bottom of Form “These moves, like playing with fire, are extremely dangerous. Those who play with fire will perish by it,” the statement added.

Chinese warplanes buzzed the line dividing the Taiwan Strait before Pelosi’s arrival. The Chinese military has been put on high alert and will launch “targeted military operations” in response to her visit, the Defence Ministry said.

(Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

UK leadership favourite Liz Truss U-turns on pay plan in 1st big misstep

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ritish Foreign Minister Liz Truss, the front-runner to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, was forced to backtrack on one of her most striking pledges a day after announcing it following a backlash from fellow Conservatives and opposition parties.

In the first big misstep of her campaign, Truss set out plans to save billions of pounds a year in Government spending in a pledge opponents said would require cutting the pay of public sector workers, including nurses and teachers, outside of the wealthy southeast of England.

Truss had said late on Monday that she would introduce regional pay boards rather than having a national pay agreement, tailoring pay to the local

Conservative leadership candidate Liz Truss speaks during a hustings event, part of the Conservative party leadership campaign, in Exeter, Britain, August 1, 2022

cost of living.

But after criticism on Tuesday, Truss said: "I never had any intention of changing the terms and conditions of teachers and nurses. But what I want to be clear about is I will not be going ahead with the re-

gional pay boards."

The U-turn came as opinion polls showed widely varying pictures of the extent of Truss's lead over rival Rishi Sunak.

A survey of 807 Conservative Party members by Italian data company Techne carried out July 19-27 found Truss was backed by 48 per cent, compared with 43 per cent for former Finance Minister Sunak.

By contrast, a YouGov poll for The Times newspaper, carried out from July 29 to Aug 2, showed Truss had extended her lead.

Shortly before the latest poll, the Daily Mail newspaper - one of Britain's best-selling titles, and popular among Conservative voters - said it was endorsing Truss, despite her U-turn. (Excerpt from Reuters)

20

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022

guyanatimesgy.com

DAILY HOROSCOPES

ARCHIE

Step into the spotlight and show everyone what you can contribute. Your attitude will make a difference to the reception you receive. Let charm, intellect and action be your calling cards.

(March 21-April 19) Keep tabs on what’s going on, but don’t interfere in something that can disrupt your relationship with someone you love. Take better care of your health, reputation and position.

DILBERT

(April 20-May 20) Look for opportunities and you’ll come across something that makes you feel excited about your future. Explore the possibilities and head in the direction that suits your lifestyle.

(May 21-June 20) Take a step back from whatever situation you face and rethink your strategy. Keep life simple, control your reactions and pursue long-term goals. Being insightful and resourceful is encouraged.

PEANUTS (June 21-July 22)

Concentrate on what’s important, and rely on intelligence to close deals.

Don’t expect to please everyone, but do your best to be fair and offer options to eliminate conflict.

(July 23-Aug. 22) Dig deep, and you’ll discover what makes you happy. Incorporate your skills with plans that put a smile on your face.

Take control and join forces with people who share your sentiments.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Revise your day to include putting your responsibilities behind you before moving on to enjoyable pastimes. Having the discipline to do things right the first time will help you avoid criticism.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Finish what you start before you move on. Refuse to let things build up that will stand between you and what you need. Focus on health, emotional well-being and taking care of business.

SUDOKU (Oct. 24-Nov. 22)

Don’t let anyone take advantage of your charitable attitude. Put more time and effort into your home, and invest in yourself and your future. Learn from the experts.

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Put your energy into transformation.

Nurture relationships and adjust your living arrangements to suit your needs.

You can’t buy love, but you can earn respect. Romance will enhance your life.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Choose the path that interests you most, and don’t worry about everyone else. Take responsibility for your happiness, and look for opportunities that encourage you to follow your heart.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) A financial gain is possible if you invest in something familiar to you. A lifestyle change looks promising; however, you may require a push to head in a new direction.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022

21

RHTY&SC salutes several members on selection to national, West Indies duties …hails investments in youth development over the years

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anagement of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) has noted, with pride, the selection of several of its players to national junior teams, the Guyana Amazon Warriors team, and the West Indies ‘A’ team.

One club member has also been selected to participate in the CWI Emerging Players Academy.

Club Secretary Hilbert Foster has declared that the club is delighted that the hard work, dedication and discipline of many of its players continue to bear fruit.

Over the last 30 years, the RHTY&SC has produced more than 120 players who have played for either Berbice, Guyana, or the West Indies at different levels, and in 2022, the club has produced seven new national and Berbice players.

The club would like to salute these named players who have gained selection at

Jonathan Rampersaud, Jeremy Sandia and Mahendra Gopilall the national level. Under-15: Guyana Amazon Warriors 20/20 Sohail Mohamed and Razam team to play in the 2022 CPL. Koobir. Under-19: Jonathan Moreover, the club notes Rampersaud, Mahendra with pride that Kevlon Anderson Gopilall and Jermey Sandia. is currently a member of the The club would like to salute CWI Emerging Players Academy.

Kevin Sinclair on his selection to Foster, who is also President the West Indies ‘A’ team to play of the Berbice Cricket Board, has against Bangladesh, and Junior noted that the club's continued Sinclair on being drafted to the production of national players

Razam Koobir and Sohail Mohamed is the result of massive investment in its youth section over the years, and is a result of a special emphasis on getting them to understand their roles as sports ambassadors of Guyana’s leading youth and sports club.

He notes that the cricket development programme of the club is a yearlong effort, and the younger players are mentored on a regular basis by senior players and management. The Club Secretary/CEO has noted with pride that a total of 19 RHTY&SC members have gained

selection at the regional level for Guyana or the West Indies six national senior females, four national under-19 females, two national under-15 males, three on the under-19 team, two on the national senior team, and one each for CPL and the Emerging Players Academy.

Among the other players are Shemaine Campbelle, Sheneta Grimmond, Shakiba Gajnabi, Clinton Pestano, Erva Giddings and Plaffina Millington. The club is confident that, in the future, it would continue to produce even more national players, due to the recent record-breaking Bakewell/Busta Cricket Academy and the soon-to-be- launched Kiddies Cricket Academy for kids between the ages of eight and 12 years.

RHTY&SC Cricket Manager Ravindranauth Kissoonlall has

committed the club to investing heavily in the development of every member, and to providing all the necessary equipment needed.

The club would like to encourage the national selectees to stay focused, disciplined and committed as they prepare for national duties.

Management of the club would also like to acknowledge the role played by the official sponsors of the RHTY&SC cricket teams in development of the players. The official sponsors are Poonai Pharmacy, Farfan and Mendes Ltd, Bakewell, Pepsi, Metro Office Supplies, Vitality Inc, and Namilco.

The RHTY&SC also extends best wishes to the Guyana under-15 and under-19 teams, the Amazon Warriors, and the West Indies ‘A’ teams.

Diogo Jota signs new long-term contract Inaugural Women’s U19 T20I Series…

WI to play USA in 5-match Series in Florida with Liverpool

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ricket West Indies (CWI) and USA Cricket are delighted to announce the first-ever Women’s Youth Bilateral International Series, wherein the West Indies Women’s U19 team will travel to Florida to take on their counterparts in a five-match T20I Series.

This series represents the first time in history that female youth internationals would be played between the two teams.

With both teams having qualified for the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, which would take place in South Africa in January 2023, this series would be ideal preparation for both teams as they build up to the historic first U19 World Cup. USA Women’s Under-19 team also have the additional recent benefit of exposure at the CWI Rising Stars Women’s U19 T20 Championship, where they were crowned champions, having played undefeated throughout the tournament.

This series has been made

possible because of the ongoing strategic partnership between CWI and USA Cricket, which aims to unlock the potential of the USA and fast track the growth of the sport; to inspire the next generation of young West Indians, and to reignite the passion for cricket in the Caribbean.

With USA Cricket sanctioning the upcoming two Men’s T20 Internationals between India and the West Indies on 6 and 7 August, both boards agreed for this historic Women’s Youth Series to follow immediately after, with both U19 teams then playing at the Broward County Stadium from 8 to 14 August.

The first two games would be held under floodlights, with 6:30pm starts on Monday 8 August and Tuesday 9 August.

The remaining three matches in the series would all be daylight games, with 10:30am starts on Thursday 11 August and Friday 12, before the fifth and final match of the series on Sunday 14 August.

Ricky Skerritt, President

of CWI, has said: “Women’s cricket has been badly in need of a pathway for refreshing the team talent and widening the pool of players. That is why it was so urgent to start a girls’ programme. This historic first West Indies U19 Women’s tour to Florida is therefore a learning experience and a crucial step forward for West Indies Cricket.

We are delighted to be working so closely with USA Cricket again on what is a historic series for both of our organisations.

We have been trying to do everything we can to grow the Women’s game at all levels across the Caribbean, with a particular emphasis on the younger teams and the scale of opportunity afforded to them.

“We’d like to thank everyone involved in the Broward County Stadium in Florida, and we look forward to two excellent events, with our Senior Men taking on India in two T20 Internationals before the historic U19 Women’s series between West Indies and USA begins the next day.”

USA Cricket Board member and Women and Girls Committee Chair, Nadia T. Gruny, has said: “We continue to appreciate the ongoing support and attention we are receiving from Cricket West Indies to help make this series a reality. USA Cricket has a strong vision to grow the Women and Girls’ game, and has invested heavily in this next generation of American players. The performances of our Under-19s in winning the Rising Stars Series in the Caribbean have shown the level that our young homegrown players can play at, and we look forward to giving West Indies a very competitive series on home soil in Florida.

“For the girls to get the added bonus of playing on some of the same pitches and same stadium that some of the stars of the global men’s game will be using just hours before is a huge incentive, and we all know how much this series will mean for both teams.” (Windies Cricket)

MATCH SCHEDULE – at Broward County Stadium * 8 August: 1st Women’s U19 T20I – 6:30pm (5:30pm Jamaica) * 9 August: 2nd Women’s U19 T20I – 6:30pm (5:30pm Jamaica) * 11 August: 3rd Women’s U19 T20I – 10:30am (9:30am Jamaica) * 12 August: 4th Women’s T20I – 10:30am (9:30am Jamaica) * 14 August: 5th Women’s T20I – 10:30am (9:30am Jamaica)

D

iogo Jota has become the latest Liverpool forward to sign a new long-term contract at Anfield.

The Reds headed into the close-season with their superstar front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino entering the final 12 months of their respective deals. Salah agreed new terms, Mane left for Bayern Munich, and Firmino has made clear his desire to stay, but is yet to put pen to paper.

Now, in the week before the start of the new Premier League season, Jota has ensured he would remain a key part of this Liverpool team.

The Portugal international signed from Wolves in September 2020, and quickly established himself ahead of Firmino in the pecking order, although Mane often played through the centre last season.

This term, Jota will have further competition in the form of new signing Darwin Nunez, but the 25-year-old Jota, who has scored 34 goals in 85 games for Liverpool, is

up for the fight. Reportedly now under contract until 2027, Jota told Liverpool’s official website: “Well, [I’m] really proud, I have to say.

Obviously, since I arrived two years ago, I established myself as an important player in this team – that’s what I wanted from the beginning. Now, signing a new long-term deal, it’s obviously from the club’s perspective proof of the belief in myself as a player. For me, obviously it’s really good to establish I’ll be here for a while. So, the beginning of a new season, let’s do it.”

In his time at Liverpool, only Salah (60 goals, 22 assists) and Mane (39 goals, 10 assists) have scored more goals or registered more goal involvements than the striker Jota (41 for Jota). Jota has impressively averaged a goal every 157 minutes in all competitions. He ranks fourth among Liverpool players over this period in that regard, behind Nunez (31), who netted on his debut on Saturday, the departed Takumi Minamino (133) and Salah (135). (Sportsmax)

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022

WI vs India, T20I Series: Match 3 of 5…

SURYAKUMAR YADAV PYROTECHNICS GIVE INDIA LEAD

-after Ashwin, Pandya restrict WI …Mayers’s 73 in vain

followed in the next three overs, that went for just 11 runs and also brought the wicket of King, who played on when slogging at him.

Ashwin had two lefthand batters in sight, and he stifled them with his guile and variations on a pitch with little turn. Mayers and Pooran managed to hit a four and a six in his remaining three overs, but had to take big risks. By the time the duo was done, West Indies had reached just 84 in 13 overs.

Honours even in final exchange

West Indies managed to successfully target Avesh in the final exchanges, but

room, but he squeezed it out for a four through covers. He was just warming up those whippy wrists of his. In the fourth over, he played a mix of a ramp and a drive to send Alzarri Joseph for a six over third.

India took 56 off the powerplay, which is when West Indies would have hoped to have brought on a similar slowdown. However, Suryakumar took Jason Holder on in the eighth over, and then punished Joseph for no fault of his in the tenth. The drive off a short-of-a-length delivery for six over wide longoff was followed by a ramp from around leg stump, with

Suryakumar Yadav (right) blasted 76 off 44 balls

Kyle Mayers top scored for West Indies with 73

S

uryakumar Yadav put on a workshop on how to hit hard lengths, after Hardik Pandya and R Ashwin helped India keep West Indies down to 164 in

their 20 overs.

Riding on Suryakumar’s 76 off 44 balls, India got to the target and a 2-1 lead in the five-match series with an over to spare.

The only matter of concern for India was their captain Rohit Sharma’s fitness; he retired hurt after getting a suspected back spasm when batting.

Put in on a bouncy track that was hosting its second match in two days, West Indies got off to a quick start in the powerplay, but Pandya and Ashwin dragged them back with their changes of pace. Between them,

they conceded just 45 runs in eight overs.

While Kyle Mayers scored a 50-ball 73, runa-ball 20s from Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran hurt West Indies’ momentum. Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell helped them get 80 off the last seven, but it wasn’t enough to trouble Suryakumar.

Fight from the first ball he faced, Suryakumar looked in imperious touch.

Squeezing out a near-yorker for four through cover, he followed it with scarcely believable shots to perfectly acceptable balls bowled on

FIDE Chess Olympiad in India…

Sasha Shariff records 1st point with win on Day 4

E

ighteen-year-old Sasha Shariff has recorded her first point in the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India in a win in Round Four of the tournament against Haiti.

Shariff defeated Theophane Paul of Haiti, who is ranked 1493, giving herself an opportunity to improve her ratings points from 1183.

Each member of the Guyanese Women’s team, with the exception of Anaya Lall, now has one point, with 7 rounds left to go. In Round 3, the Guyanese women defeated Laos when Pooja Lam, Nellisha Johnson and Jessica Callender scored wins and won the match 3-1.

Twelve-year-old Anaya Lall, the reserve player, will make her debut in Round 5 on August 2, along with team members Nellisha Johnson, Jessica Callender and Pooja Lam. They face off against Malawi, seeded at 121, as against the Guyana women’s 136.

On the men’s side, Taffin Khan, Anthony Drayton, Loris Nathoo and Roberto Neto fought valiantly in attempting to secure wins against the Jamaica team in Round 4, but their efforts were to no avail. Jamaica

Brandon King got an inside edge on to his stumps

hard lengths.

Five of his 12 boundaries came behind square on the off side, and one came behind square on the leg side, but his best shot was an aerial inside-out drive to a short-of-a-length ball on middle stump, getting a six over wide long-off. It was but one shot of an exhibition put on by Suryakumar, who at one point threatened to get a century in a small chase.

By the time he was done, India needed just 30 off 33 balls.

Mayers signals intent

Sasha Shariff

is positioned at 108 in the world.

Round 5 will be played on August 2, with the Guyana Open team facing off against Namibia, seeded at 121, as against Guyana’s 152.

Players are Taffin Khan, Anthony Drayton, Loris Nathoo and Ethan Lee. The FIDE Congress is also being held in Chennai from July 31 to August 9, with the General Assembly and Elections set for August 7, when a new FIDE

President will be elected.

This event is being attended

by GCF President Frankie Farley.

Games continue daily with one round per day, and are being played at the Four Points by Sheraton Mahabalipuram Resort and Convention Centre. Play starts daily at 15:00 Indian Time - 05:30 Guyana. Links to live games can be found on the Guyana Chess Federation’s Website: www. guyanachess.org.

India sneaked in a quiet over from Deepak Hooda with the new ball, but Mayers got stuck into any pace on offer, especially that of Avesh Khan. If he went over leg side against Avesh, he made room to slice open the covers when Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled. Arshdeep Singh did well in the final powerplay over, but Mayers and King punished two slight errors of length from Ashwin in the seventh over to make it 56 without loss.

Pandya, Ashwin choke the middle overs

Pandya, who had been pulled for a six in his first over, got a change of ends, which meant Mayers was hitting into a stiff wind if he pulled. Extra bounce, hard lengths and changes of pace

Arshdeep and Bhuvneshwar kept pulling them back, denying them the finishing kick they badly needed after that middle-over slowdown.

Mayers and Rovman Powell played some incredible shots to get them the 80 runs they did in these seven overs, but they were about to pale in comparison.

The Suryakumar Show

The first ball Suryakumar - opening for the third time this series - faced was a low full toss with not much

Suryakumar almost on his back as he arched back to make room. It was the halfway mark, and India needed just another 69.

Before he signed off, Suryakumar played another outrageous shot, a sweep off left-arm seamer Dominic Drakes from wide outside off and over short fine. When he tried a repeat, Suryakumar fell, leaving India just 30 to get in 33 balls, which they did comfortably, thanks to Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 33 off 26 deliveries. (Cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD WEST INDIES INNINGS (20 overs maximum) Brandon King b Pandya 20 Kyle Mayers c †Pant b Kumar 73 Nicholas Pooran (c)c †Pant b Kumar 22 Rovman Powell c Hooda b Arshdeep Singh 23 Shimron Hetmyer run out (Yadav/†Pant) 20 Devon Thomas †not out 0 Jason Holder not out 1 Extras (lb 3, w 2) 5 TOTAL 20 Ov (RR: 8.20) 164/5 Did not bat: Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy, Dominic Drakes Fall of wickets: 1-57 (Brandon King, 7.2 ov), 2-107 (Nicholas Pooran, 14.4 ov), 3-128 (Kyle Mayers, 16.2 ov), 4-162 (Rovman Powell, 19.3 ov), 5-163 (Shimron Hetmyer, 19.5 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Deepak Hooda 1-0-1-0 Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-0-35-2 Avesh Khan 3-0-47-0 Hardik Pandya 4-0-19-1

Arshdeep Singh 4-0-33-1 Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-26-0 INDIA INNINGS (Target: 165 runs from 20 overs) Rohit Sharma (c) retired hurt 11 Suryakumar Yadav c Joseph b Drakes 76 Shreyas Iyer st †Thomas b Hosein 24 Rishabh Pant †not out 33 Hardik Pandya c †Thomas b Holder 4 Deepak Hooda not out 10 Extras (b 1, nb 1, w 5)` 7 TOTAL 19 Ov (RR: 8.68) 165/3 Did not bat: Dinesh Karthik, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh Fall of wickets: 0-19* (Rohit Sharma, retired hurt), 1-105 (Shreyas Iyer, 11.3 ov), 2-135 (Suryakumar Yadav, 14.3 ov), 3-149 (Hardik Pandya, 17.2 ov) BOWLING O-M-R-W Obed McCoy 4-0-34-0 Alzarri Joseph 4-0-39-0 Dominic Drakes 4-0-33-1 Jason Holder 3-0-30-1 Akeal Hosein 4-0-28-1

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Commonwealth Games 2022…

23

Archibald, Abrams shine on Day 1 of track and field competition T

he pair of Emanuel Archibald and Jasmine Abrams made a strong case for Guyana on the track on Monday, when track and field action commenced in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022.

These two Guyanese athletes were joined on the track

by Noelex Holder and Akeem Stewart for the first round of the Men’s and Women’s 100M event at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England.

Prior to the races, Archibald arrived at the Long Jump area for the first round of qualifying. Drafted in Group B, Archibald’s recorded leaps were 7.59M, 7.63M and a best jump of 7.83M to finish atop the group, which boasted jumpers from New Zealand, India, Botswana, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago, among others. As such, the Guyanese secured a place in the Long Jump final at the 2022 Games.

Holder was the first to take to the track in Guyana’s allblack uniform outfitted with the Golden Arrowhead.

Competing in Heat 5 of 10, Holder sprinted across the line in 10.50s for 4th place in the Heat. And Akeem Stewart,

competing in Heat 9, clocked 10.46s for fourth place in that race. However, the times and positioning of either of these athletes was not good enough to punch them a ticket to the 100m semifinal.

Following his success in the long jump pit, Archibald headed over to the track for Heat 10 of the 100M qualifying, and clocked 10.28s, second only to Jerod Elcock of Trinidad and Tobago, who finished in 10.26s.

“It was pretty easy. The goal was just to qualify for the Long Jump finals, and then a big Q for the 100M,” Archibald said about being in back-toback events on Tuesday. He added, “For the season, I’ve been preparing for it, so it’s not really hard. I just come out here with the same mindset as I’ve been running this season, and do the same thing I’ve been doing all year.”

Jasmine Abrams was Guyana’s second qualifier of the day. She finished third in Heat 4 of the Women’s 100M event, stopping the clock at 11.41s, behind Nigeria’s Rosemary Chukwuma (11.02s) and Botswana’s Oarabile Tshosa (11.40s).

“It feels amazing! I went into it wanting to go to the

semifinals, so being able to accomplish that at one of the many games I’ve been to is very honourable, and I’m so grateful,” Abrams said in wake of her semifinal qualification.

Quizzed about what she would be working on for the next round, the sprinter shared, “Go back, talk to my coach, see what I could do different. I was told that I’m not lifting my legs, so I need to make sure tomorrow in semis I’m picking up my foot and dropping it down and bringing up my knee in front of me. So, main goal tomorrow is (to) make sure I’m making it through the round,” she added.

Archibald and Abrams are both moving on to the semifinal of the sprint event, which will take centre stage today.

Also in action for Guyana in the track events was Joana Archer, contesting the Women’s 800m Round 1.

Archer clocked 2:7.24 in finishing 7th in Heat One, but her time was not good enough for an automatic qualification.

While Abrams and Archibald head into the semifinals today, another group of Guyanese Athletes, some debutants, will get their Commonwealth Games 2022

Jasmine Abrams (right) approaching the finish line in the Women’s 100M heats

campaign going.

Aliyah Abrams will make a play in the 400m event, while Arinze Chance takes to the track for the male version of the event.

Quamel Prince will also lace up his shoes for the 800m event.

Aside from athletics, today will be a busy one for other members of the Guyanese contingent. Table Tennis, Boxing and Badminton are all scheduled for events.

Chelsea Edghill, Nathalie Cummings, Priscilla Greaves, Shemar Britton and Johnathan Van Lange are scheduled to battle in the Table

Tennis Men’s and Women’s Singles. The players have been placed in groups of three.

In group 1 of the Women’s Singles will be Edghill, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, while Greaves dukes it out in Group 9 and Cummings in Group 13.

Britton has been drafted in Group 1 of the Men’s Singles, with Van Lange competing in Group 2.

Narayan and Priyanna Ramdhani will begin their first major Badminton campaign in the absence of their father, Gokarn Ramdhani, in the Mixed Doubles event.

They will come up against the

Ugandan team in the Round of 64.

Meanwhile, Priyanna will go it alone in the Women’s Singles Round of 64 against Pakistan’s Mahoor Shahzad.

And Keevin Allicock and Desmond Amsterdam will fight for a chance to grab medals in their respective weight classes in boxing. In the Featherweight quarterfinals, Allicock will trade punches with Canada’s Keoma-Ali AlAhmadieh, while Amsterdam goes into battle against Australia’s Callum Peters in the Middleweight quarterfinals.

Badminton siblings begin Commonwealth medal hunt today …Priyanna makes singles’ debut; pair to compete in mixed-doubles

B

adminton siblings Narayan and Priyanna Ramdhani will begin their quest for glory at the Commonwealth Games today. They will play in the mixed-doubles, while Priyanna will have a go at her first Commonwealth Games in the women’s Round-of-64.

Narayan has received a ‘bye’, and will move into the round-of-32 tomorrow.

However, this time around, a familiar voice will not be coming from their corner. The siblings have lost their father, Gokarn Ramdhani, last October, when the renowned badminton coach and executive suffered a heart attack in Canada, where he had taken up the Head Coach role at Olds College.

They’ve played every major tournament with their father

on the sidelines, until now.

“It’s definitely different with him not being here, but I just have to have a strong mindset; at least a positive one.

I have to try my best to win at least a few matches, and hopefully I’ll be good. I’m looking forward to playing my singles and mixed-doubles, and hopefully we should be able to win,” Priyanna has said.

Her brother Narayan has

LGC SEEKING TO MAKE GOLFING MORE DIVERSE

-George optimistic ratio of female-to-male golfers will change

By Timothy Jaikarran

T

he Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) has always been interested in making golf a more diverse game. The current ratio of male to female golfers is unevenly balanced, but the LGC continues with its vision of making the sport more inclusive of females.

Speaking on behalf of the LGC, Vice President Paton George has said, “I’m glad you asked about the women in golf; it is important.

Sometimes, we don’t speak to that subject enough, even though we are working constantly on that subject behind the scenes in attracting diversity across gender and age. The women golfers traditionally have been well-supported at the Lusignan Golf Club, even though we haven’t had the numbers equally in rivalling the number of male members we have.”

George has said it is his belief that the ratio of male to female golfers would soon change. He mentioned that one of the activities that would attract female golfers is the Golf Summer Camp

that the club would be hosting in the last week of August.

He said that women, more so mothers, are the more nurturing type, and when their children and families attend the LGC, the number of women will grow.

He said the LGC, in growing its membership, is taking an approach based on increasing diversity of attendance through programmes like the kids playing golf and the kids playing without being charged.

“It may not seem like we are targeting women, but it’s not just the kids we are looking at, but who will bring the kids to the field. The likelihood is that the women, the

mothers, the aunts, will bring their kids to the field,” George has posited.

As Vice President of the Lusignan Golf Club, George explained, it is not rocket science to see that mothers are the ones who spend the most time with the kids, and once the club pursues children’s activities, the mothers would come, and they are going to swing the clubs and play.

He said that female golfers around the world, who participate in leagues such as the LPGA, are equally skilled as some of the male golfers.

“We are hoping, in fact I believe, that Guyana will soon see its first professional golfer be a woman golfer,” he said.

said the family misses the senior Ramdhani, but added, “We have our mom (Emily) here. She’s good. She has been helping all the time throughout our lives. So, yea, it will be different, and a different voice backing us now. He taught us (well); we know what we have to do on the court. He just wants us to play hard and try to win as much as we can.”

While Narayan competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, his sister Priyanna

is making her debut. At the games in Australia, Narayan was knocked out in the Round-of-32 of the Men’s Singles, losing to Canada’s Jason Ho-Shue.

The Ramdhanis are the highest-ranked players in Guyana and in the Englishspeaking Caribbean. They say they’re embracing the expectations of doing well at the Games in Birmingham.

According to Narayan, “My entire life, everyone ex-

pected me to do well (in badminton), so I just try my hardest and play my best.”

Priyanna’s mindset heading into her first outing at the Commonwealth Games is one that’s similar to her brother’s, as she pointed out “there are a lot of high-ranking athletes here, but I’ll just try my best, starting from the round-of-64, and it should be good.” (By Rawle Toney, Team Guyana Press Attache)

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2022

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

WI vs India, T20I Series: Match 3 of 5…

SURYAKUMAR YADAV PYROTECHNICS GIVE INDIA LEAD -after Ashwin, Pandya restrict WI …Mayers’s 73 in vain

Page 22

Page 23

Narayan and Priyanna sharing a light moment with their mother and coach, Emily, at the Commonwealth Games. (Rawle Toney/GOA photo)

Badminton siblings begin Commonwealth medal hunt today …Priyanna makes singles’ debut; pair to compete in mixed-doubles

Archibald, Abrams shine on Day 1 of track and field competition Page 23

Emanuel Archibald is caught mid-jump during the Long Jump event

LGC SEEKING TO MAKE GOLFING MORE DIVERSE -George optimistic ratio of female-tomale golfers will change See story on page 23

LGC VP Paton George

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