Guyana Times - Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Over 2000 mortgages approved by NBS since August 2020 – Finance Minister

Since the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government took office in August 2020, over 2000 mortgages have been ap proved for Guyanese fam ilies to build their homes through the New Building Society.

This was shared by Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh on Tuesday. He added that NBS has played a remarkable role in advancing his Government’s housing drive.

The Ali-led Administration is geared at fulfilling its manifesto promise of 50,000 house lots in five years, meaning that the country will see an un precedented housing boom throughout this time. It also translates to more per sons applying at financial institutions to commence construction on their new plot of land.

Dr Singh informed, “The scheme has also responded

phenomenally in improv ing access and the ease of access to mortgages. From August 2020 to now, you have over 2000 new mort gages. That’s a number to contemplate. This insti tution alone. That’s 2000 Guyanese families who now have a loan from the NBS to build a home on very like ly a plot of land that was granted to them by this People’s Progressive Party/

Civic Government.”

For 2022 thus far, over 1100 mortgages to the tune of $9 billion have been ap proved.

Last September, NBS introduced a host of re lief measures on mortgag es, such as reduced interest rates and a higher loan ceil ing, in order to make home ownership more affordable.

The financial institu tion, which mainly deals

with home loans, had com mitted to Government to release approximately $20 billion of its cash resourc es to support the aggressive housing drive across the country.

The interest rate on loans from $1 million to $4 million was reduced to 3.50 per cent from 4 per cent. For loans above $4 million up to $9 million, the interest was reduced from 5.95 per cent

to 3.75 per cent.

An interest rate of 5.70 per cent, instead of the pre vious 5.95 per cent, is now applied to the loan brack et of above $9 million up to $20 million.

With these slashed in terest rates, some 9634 NBS borrowers would ben efit from the reduction of $210 million in their instal ments for 2022 and the du ration of the loan period.

In addition to the re duced interest rates, NBS had also increased its loan ceiling from $15 million to $20 million, and with the slashed rates, borrowers will still be paying approx imately the same instal ments.

Next year, the finan cial institution would also change the interest calcula tion to that of reducing the monthly balance upon the payment of every month ly sum due from January. Further, NBS has removed the stipulation for persons to have a certain amount of money at the commence ment of the construction phase.

NBS now takes 24 hours to approve a mortgage, af ter which the filing of docu ments to the Deeds Registry and other Government agencies should be done within 48 hours, thus re ducing the waiting time for borrowers to access their approved funds. (G12)

BRIDGE OPENINGS

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

Wednesday, Nov 23 – 04:00h – 05:30h and Thursday, Nov 24 – 04:00h – 05:30h.

The

Wednesday, Nov 23 – 15:45h – 17:15h and Thursday, Nov 24 – 16:35h – 18:05h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

Parika

There

Winds:

High Tide: 15:59h reaching a maximum height of 2.85 metres.

Low Tide: 09:34h and 22:01h reaching minimum heights of 0.53 metre and 0.34 metre.

Border controversy case at ICJ Venezuela long on rhetoric, short on facts – Greenidge

…as Guyana seeks dismissal of Venezuela’s preliminary objections

The hearing in the Guyana-Venezuela bor der controversy contin ued before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Tuesday, with Guyana’s Co-Agent and Advisor on Borders, Carl Greenidge, de scribing Venezuela’s prelimi nary objections to the case as long on rhetoric but short on facts.

During the hearing at the Hague-based ICJ on Tuesday, presentations were made dis mantling Venezuela’s ille gitimate claims on Guyana’s territory. Greenidge noted that Venezuela has absolute ly failed to articulate proper grounds for its case.

“As will no doubt have been apparent to the Court throughout this hearing, Venezuela’s arguments in support of its preliminary ob jections have been rather long on allegations and rhetoric and somewhat short on sub stance. One thing, however, is abundantly clear. Venezuela really does not want this court to determine the merits of Guyana’s claims.

“Why, one might ask, is that the case? Is it that Venezuela is concerned that a judgement in the case will, in its very essence, involve a determination of the rights of the UK? Or is it because Venezuela recognises that the legal and factual merits of Guyana’s claims, are over whelming and a hearing will yield only one possible out come?” Greenidge questioned.

He further noted that Venezuela is more interest ed in continuing to hold onto a falsehood, than a final and legal pronouncement on the truth. He reaffirmed that Guyana has no interest in a negotiation conclusion of the border controversy, but a le gal one.

“Instead of proceeding to determine the merits of Guyana’s claim, Venezuela urges the court to decline to exercise jurisdiction. So that the dispute between both par ties could instead be resolved through a process of negotia tion.”

“By making that argu ment, Venezuela once again invites the court to condemn the parties to perpetual dead lock. And the indefinite con tinuation of a controversy which has blighted their re lations for the entirety of Guyana’s existence as a sov ereign state,” Greenidge, a former Foreign Affairs Minister, said.

Inconsistencies

Meanwhile, one of Guyana’s international law yers in the case, King’s Counsel Phillipe Sands not ed that Venezuela has so far failed to provide any credi ble grounds for why the 1899 Arbitral Award should be vacated. Sands, a Professor of International Law at University College London, also pointed out inconsisten

cies in Professor Christian Tams’s arguments on behalf of Venezuela.

“In the first round, Professor Tams still rec ognised the need to establish the wrongful conduct of the arbitral tribunal. Although he did shift the argument, in part, to the wrongful conduct of the British Government or its legal team. If a tribu nal is corrupt, he said, some one must have corrupted it,” Sands said.

“But in the second round, as I’m sure you will have no ticed, the argument had com pletely changed. The court heard not a single word, about the wrongful conduct of the arbitrators. And now, the case is entirely about the wrongful conduct of the United Kingdom.”

According to the lawyer, Tams’s presentation is pre mised that the wrongful con duct of a party should in validate the arbitral award. However, Sands noted that there is no precedent of an ar

bitral award being set aside because of the conduct of a party or counsel. He noted that it is the conduct of the ar bitrators that is relevant.

Venezuela has been seek ing to block Guyana from having its substantive appli cation before the ICJ heard, on spurious grounds that include its claims that the United Kingdom should have been made a party to the case instead of Guyana.

Venezuela has also claimed that the 1899 arbi tral award is void due to what it claims was fraud by the UK at the time. The ICJ subse quently revealed in a state ment that the date for the court to rule on the prelim inary objections, will be an nounced later.

Guyana’s legal team is headed by Co-Agent and Counsel, Sir Shridath Ramphal, and includes mem ber of the Bars of the United States Supreme Court and the District of Columbia, Paul S Reichler; and Professor

Emeritus of the University Paris Nanterre, former Chairman of the International Law Commission and mem ber of the Institut de Droit International,

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, in January 2018, decided that the case should be set tled by the ICJ after exercis ing the powers vested in him to decide how the controversy should be settled by the 1966 Geneva Agreement between Guyana, Venezuela, and the United Kingdom.

He resorted to judicial set tlement after the good offic es process between Guyana and Venezuela failed. Within the framework of the 1966 Geneva Agreement be tween the two countries, the Secretary General conducted good offices from 1990 to 2017 to find a solution to the border controversy.

The Spanish-speaking na tion is laying claim to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass in Essequibo and a portion of its exclusive eco nomic zone (EEZ) in which more than nine billion barrels of oil have been discovered over the past six years.

Guyana, among oth er things, is asking the ICJ to adjudge and declare that the 1899 Award is valid and binding upon Guyana and Venezuela and that Venezuela is international ly responsible for violations of Guyana’s sovereignty and sovereign rights, and for all injuries suffered by Guyana as a consequence. (G3)

Alain Pellet.

A photo from inside the ICJ, during a presentation by Guyana’s Co-Agent Carl Greenidge

Editor: Tusika Martin

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Standing with enforcement officers

Two abusive teenagers will now have a Police record, having assaulted a Policeman while he was directing traffic in Berbice. This distasteful display was caught on camera, and has since gone viral.

More concerning, however, is the fact that two teens –aged 18 and 19 – have absolutely no respect for authority and, further, no respect for a law enforcement officer.

There are several instances when cops are assaulted and abused, as reported in the press and viral social media videos/posts. These confrontations between citizens and ranks of the Guyana Police Force have escalated to an unprecedented level of disrespect and disregard for law enforcement officers.

In the obnoxious attack on Tuesday, the cop was knocked to the ground and punched. Justifiably so, he attempted to defend himself, but the two unruly teens sped away on their motorcycle. Luckily, that freedom was short-lived.

If one can recall, some time ago, a Policeman was attacked by a minibus driver of Sophia, Greater Georgetown. During the incident, the driver, who was pulled over by Police Constable Edwin Connelly, and who got annoyed at the rank, launched an attack on him with a cutlass. Reports in the press had stated that the cop, who was on motorcycle patrol on Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown, had asked the driver to produce his licence, the driver drove off and was pursued by the cop, who again intercepted him on Sheriff Street. It was at this point that the driver exited the bus, proceeded to the left passenger side of the vehicle, retrieved a cutlass, and chased after the Constable, who ran away. That driver, Collis Whyte, has since been sentenced to one year’s imprisonment by Magistrate Leron Daly for his actions. He has one year in prison to think about his actions. In another incident, 32-year-old businessman Terrence Lynch was charged with four offences, including assaulting a traffic Police officer and resisting arrest in relation to the incident, which occurred on April 13, 2021.

On the matter of lawlessness towards the Police, we support Attorney General Senior Counsel Anil Nandlall when he acknowledged that while there is a lot of work to be done to repair the image of the Guyana Police Force as well as improve the professionalism and discipline of its ranks, it is the premier law enforcement agency in Guyana, and such actions cannot be condoned.

Attorney General had said: “They may be bad, but it is what we have, and we cannot encourage citizens taking up arms against the law enforcement agencies. This type of conduct must be deprecated, condemned in the strongest possible fashion. When this happens, you’re striking at the very heart of Guyana as a civilised society. When the population is resisting and assaulting the law enforcement agencies, that is a serious thing.”

Only recently, Public Works Minister Juan Edgill sent a strong message to motorists that the culture of flouting traffic laws while operating on Guyana’s roadways must come to an end.

Likewise, the Guyana Police Force has begun a campaign to crack down on drivers and motorists who are breaching the condition of prescribed fitness and those who are violating traffic laws.

This enforcement is exactly what the Policeman was doing when he was unjustly attacked on Tuesday morning.

It is time that the court of law send a strong message to other drivers and motorist and all persons in general who act and behave in such a manner towards the Police.

This behaviour must be treated as a very serious crime, and harsh penalties must apply to assault or battery against a Police officer.

Involvement of all is critical to addressing workers’ challenges

Dear Editor, The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) has rec ognised the recent announce ment by His Excellency President Irfaan Ali regard ing pay rises for 2022. In his address, the President contextualised the eight (8) percent pay rise to State employees within the frame work of other measures ap proved by his Government since coming into office. Indeed, we have taken note of those measures, and we believe they were undoubt edly aimed at improving the lives and well-being of our ordinary people. This has not escaped our attention, and kudos where appropri ate.

We, however, share the view that we do not believe that every measure reached the intended beneficiaries –the ordinary people. It calls into question the axiom of trickle-down economics, which has attracted some deal of criticism in recent years.

We are, however, of the considered view that had it not been for the proactive measures of the Government to mitigate the exogenous challenges, the cost-of-liv ing would have been much higher. We are conscious that every measure has a limitation, and in some in stances, such as the excise tax on fuel, that threshold was reached.

Despite the proactive ness of the Administration to ease the situation, we rec ognise that the Ministry of Finance’s 2022 Mid-Year Report informs that infla tion up to June 2022 stood

at 4.9 percent. More re cent data from the Bureau of Statistics recorded that inflation had risen to 6.5 percent up to the end of September 2022. Should this trend remain consis tent, then there is a real fear that in spite of the improve ment granted, workers may see a regression in their real earnings.

We are certainly hope ful this is not the case, and more updated data would us to draw an informed view.

The Federation notes as well the statements jux taposing the increase ap proved within the context of long-term sustainability. Such contentions cannot be discounted. We believe that data to provide a greater un derstanding would be help ful. Alongside such views, we have heard of the need to invest today for a sound to morrow. Given the deficits in health, education, hous ing, and infrastructure, to name a few, it is difficult to argue with such conten tions. While certainly there is always need to keep an eye on the future, we recog nise, too, that we should not ignore our present-day cir cumstances. They have im plications for the future as well, and we believe there is an undoubted need to en sure that we promote efforts to ensure egalitarianism in our society.

The FITUG has seen, too, statements advancing the upholding of collective bargaining. Before speaking specifically to the issue, we cannot fail to recognise that some who espouse the con cept of collective bargaining in a past era trampled wan

tonly on it. Today they come with crocodile tears her alding its value. As a trade union organisation that is mindful of our history and the struggles of the working class, we believe every effort should be made to further involve the representatives of the workers.

We believe that in an atmosphere of respectful, frank and mature discus sions, much could be accom plished across the table. We are conscious such sugges tions may evoke strong re sponses, but given the stage of our development, the in volvement of all is critical to our long-term success as a nation and people.

The President, in his an nouncement, has indicated

that further efforts are be ing pursued to address the earnings of lower-earning workers. Already we rec ognise that trainee teach ers will no longer receive a stipend. These are credi ble measures which can go a long way. We nonetheless hold the view that collabo ration with all stakehold ers can lend to credible out comes in the interest of all Guyanese. In this regard, the pay rise announcement we hold as a first step to ad dressing some of the chal lenges the workers face.

Sincerely, Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG)

Only when hierarchy intervenes success is seen at NIS

Dear Editor, Why did it have to take the intervention of the President and Finance Minister to achieve what NIS should have been able to do with regards to pensions for GDF vet erans and other pension ers? It really is pure damn nonsense (that phrase) that only when the hierarchy intervenes that some success is seen. Why must this be?

On an NIS-related is sue, the policy of an ail ment/sickness not be ing registered with the

Scheme prior to mak ing a claim in later life needs reviewing. It serves no purpose, ex cept to deny claimants much needed assistance when it is most needed in their twilight years. When will over-the-min imum pensioners get an increase, and isn’t it high time spectacle vouchers and others be increased too?

NIS needs to get real with today’s realities.

Sincerely, Shamshun Mohamed

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Tuesday accepted the letters of credence from Non-Resident Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Peru to Guyana, David Malaga, at State House. Guyana and Peru established diplomatic relations on July 17, 1971 (Office of the President photo)

Pres Ali should make local artistes social issues’ spokespersons, advocates

Dear Editor,

The Guyana Government is spending $6.9 million to double the earnings made by some 89 local artistes in the ‘One Guyana’ Concert during this year’s Cricket Carnival at the National Stadium, Providence. Now, no one can fault this, but it also pro vides a great opportunity for the Government to get those artistes engaged as spokes persons and advocates for a range of issues, especial

ly mental health-related. To date, only a handful of local artistes have publicly and continuously been associat ed with awareness, sensitisa tion, advocacy and prevention of suicide, domestic violence, sexual abuse, animal abuse, environmental conservation, child abuse, substance abuse, mental health stigmas and myths, for example.

The Caribbean Voice can point to Roger Hinds, one of our spokespersons, who has

produced anti-suicide and do mestic violence songs, par ticipates in our concerts for hope, (the next one coming up on Saturday, November 26, 6-9 pm, New York City time, zoom to Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ groups/245209622345879), advocates for the causes we focus on, and has donated his talent to a host of related events and activities.

In the diaspora, Terry Gajraj, Satish Udairam,

Paul Hawker aka Pablo G, George ‘Jah’ Dover, Andrew Joseph, aka MC Drew -all Guyanese performers -are also spokespersons for The Caribbean Voice, and have been actively involved in our work. Similarly in volved are Garfield Maclean, aka GMac (Jamaica), and Natty Ramotar (Florida via Trinidad & Tobago). While not a TCV spokesperson, Charmaine Blackman has also been highly support

ive, and is involved locally in related advocacy, as are a bunch of artistes in the dias pora - singers, dancers, spo ken word performers, and drummers.

The Caribbean Voice urg es President Ali to seize this opportunity to bring all 89 lo cal artistes into this process, which would see them being spokespersons and advocates for these kinds of causes, or whatever other cause they may be desirous of being in

volved with.

Artistes have tremen dous influential followings every which way, and their involvement can help bring about positive attitudes and behaviours, as well as per suade far greater numbers of people to actively get involved as part of the solution and re dress.

Sincerely, Annan Boodram The Caribbean Voice

Diaspora browbeating must come to an end

Dear Editor, I write with reference to a letter to President Ali, pub lished on 13/11/22 under the title “We are calling for a gov’t energy policy that guarantees a fair deal for Guyana and the planet”. The letter was signed by 45 persons (G45), many of whom claim Guyanese citi zenship but do not live here.

While the concerns and recommendations to the President are of great inter est, the letter contains two fundamental flaws that can cel out its initial worth. First and foremost is the recom mendation that Guyana as sume the role of carbon sink

‘in chief’ to facilitate “fossil economies [that] desperately need this service.” Simply put, the G45 wants the same fos sil economies that have con tributed the most to climate change to be given a chance to contribute even more, while asking a developing country to absorb their mess. In effect, what the G45 is suggesting is that Guyanese who live here, as against the ones who live in fossil economies recommend ed for protection, accept a neo colonial model by relegating itself to a natural resource supplier with no value-added benefits.

Editor, I note with grave

concern that many in the G45 group are enjoying all the benefits of the fossil fuel econ omies they live in, while rec ommending we supply the en vironmental wherewithal for their comfort. Rather than fo cus only on the supply side of things, therefore, I urge the G45 to focus on the popula tions that contribute the most to GHG. About half of the signatories to the President live in high-consumption fos sil economies. They are the ones who must adjust their lifestyles to meet the various goals set out in the global cli mate change agenda.

A cursory look at the rele

A final rejoinder to Lowe and Alexander

Dear Editor, The local press pub lished responses by Sherwood Lowe and Vincent Alexander to my previous letters regard ing the voters’ list. I wish, with due brevity, to offer a rejoinder. Neither of these two gentlemen advanced the debate with any worthy arguments. Both rehashed the positions they earli er adumbrated, including persisting with the conten tion that the presence of overseas-based Guyanese and dead persons on the voters’ list results in voter impersonation. Both reso lutely allege that this oc curred at the March 2nd, 2020 Elections. The pub lic record is replete with persons who came for ward, both on the conven tional and social media, to debunk claims made by APNU/AFC that they were dead or overseas on March 2nd, 2020 and voted at those elections. These persons vigorously reject ed those allegations, pro claiming that they were present in Guyana and in dicated the polling station at which they cast their ballots.

On the other hand, I challenge both Messrs. Lowe and Alexander to PROVE to the public a sin gular case where a vote

was cast at those elections by a person in the name of a deceased person or in the name of a person overseas on March 2nd, 2020.

Messrs. Lowe and Alexander introduced one new ar gument each into the ex change. For completeness of the public record, I wish to offer my comments on these additions.

Mr. Lowe insinuates that I am advocating for overseas voting. It is in deed befuddling how Mr. Lowe arrived at this curi ous conclusion. I have ad vanced no such contention.

Mr. Alexander accus es me of not responding to a letter of his dated November 7th, 2022. This accusation is quite in or der. I neither read nor re sponded to that letter. My response to Mr. Alexander was solely and exclusive ly in respect of his letter of 19/11/2022.

I gather that in his letter dated November 7th, Mr. Alexander prof fered proposals regarding the use of “biometric fin gerprint identification at the place of poll”. His let ter ends with the follow ing, in reference to me: “… why is he so fiercely op posing fingerprint iden tification at the place of poll?” Any able reader

would confirm that I wrote not a line in my exchange with Mr. Alexander on bio metrics of any type. I am therefore at a loss in un derstanding from whence Mr. Alexander discerned my “fierce opposition” to the same. Mr Alexander well knows that biometrics is a new injection in this discourse, which requires separate treatment, as it is outside the scope of this debate.

The inconvenient truth is that APNU/AFC need to spend less time and ener gy in these fanciful elector al forays and concentrate in getting the voter to the polling station to cast a ballot in their favour. That is how elections are fair ly won. There is simply no substitute.

I believe that I have comprehensively ad dressed and conclusively settled the germane issue of controversy in this ex change; that is, that per sons whose names are law fully on the list cannot be considered ‘bloat’.

I rest.

Yours faithfully, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, MP

Attorney General & Minister of Legal Affairs

vant data on the consumption side points to the real source of GHG emissions. Let us be gin with electricity consump tion, expressed in kilowatt hours. Here is a quick take – Norway, 29,000; Canada 16,800; USA 13,000; Australia 10,300; UK 4,600; India 1200; Guyana 1,000; Nigeria 135.

There is a vast divide be tween the developed and de veloping world. Millions of people in the latter still live in the dark, while a typical house in North America has 100 light bulbs and multiple appliances.

Vehicle ownership is a good indicator of who is do ing the polluting. 43 coun tries have more than 500 cars per 1000 persons, of which 37 are from North America and Europe. 64 countries have less than 100 vehicles per 1000, all of which are in the Third World. Gasoline per capita consumption is highest in the developed world, with US and Canada burning 4.39 and 3.62 litres respectively every day. Readers may want to know that Canada, with 38 million people, has more vehi cles than all of Africa, with a

population of 1.2 billion.

Natural gas consumption shows the same staggering disparities between what the wealthy nations burn up ver sus consumption in the Third World. The US burns 35 times more natural gas than Mozambique, and Canada burns 149 times more than Tanzania (https://www.worl dometers.info/gas/gas-con sumption-by-country/).

Fossil fuel subsidies are a major indirect contribu tor to GHG. Public money (subsidies) going to fossil fu els could instead go to social spending, health and devel opment, clean energy, energy access for the poor, or other areas important to the pub lic. (priceofoil.org). Canada (where some of the letter writ ers live) is high on fossil sub sidies, amounting to nearly Cdn$5B annually (iisd.org).

In Canada, fossil fuel subsi dies are given at both the fed eral and provincial levels.

According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development, “examples of provincial subsi dies include crown royalty re ductions in Alberta valued at

an average of Cdn$1.16 bil lion and deep drilling and in frastructure credits in British Columbia valued at Cdn$350 million in 2019 (iisd.org).

In October of this year, President Biden released 15 million barrels of oil in order to lower gasoline prices and deal with inflation. Lowering gas price is a guaranteed means of increasing emis sions, but when citizens in wealthy countries with huge reserves need a break, they get it.

Given all the above, I call of the signatories to the let ter to President Ali to go to the Governments where they reside and ask them to stop drilling, stop subsidising, and stop pressuring Third World countries to assume the role of raw materials’ providers in the age of ideas-based value. Further, the activists should go tell their fellow consumers in the developed world to ease up on their debilitating con sumption practices. Diaspora browbeating must come to an end.

Dr Randolph Persaud

GOAL Scholarship Programme an excellent initiative

Dear Editor, As a beneficiary of the GOAL Scholarship Programme, allow me a sec tion in your paper to express my gratitude to those whose brainchild this programme is.

Early last year, I ap plied for a programme that was offered by the GOAL Scholarship Programme which was initiated by His Excellency President Dr. Mohammed Irfaan Ali and his cabinet. I must say the application and approval pro cess was very smooth, speedy and efficient.

Upon attending the pro gramme at the respective university, information and communication between the Ministry of Public Service, the respective universi ty and myself (student) was readily prepared and avail able to students. I must com mend the Minister of Public

Service, Hon. Sonia Parag, on her excellent work at orches trating this system of com munication. This has aided in the motivation of various colleagues of mine, express ing their intentions of further studying through the GOAL Scholarship Programme.

I am a beneficiary who studied through the pro gramme and have knowledge of how the GOAL Scholarship Programme works. I can safely say that the GOAL Scholarship Programme gives every single Guyanese an opportunity to study a programme and further ad vance their curriculum vitae (CV).

I am happy to state that communication that certifi cates are available and the certificate handing-over pro cess to various scholars of the programme were even more efficient.

The Guyana Online Learning Academy is an ex cellent and effective pro gramme that will aid in helping Guyanese of all back grounds develop themselves once they take advantage of the programme.

Thus I would like to urge all my fellow Guyanese to take advantage of this pro gramme, since it is very ef fective and adds a lot to one’s curriculum vitae (CV).

I would also like to express gratitude to His Excellency President Dr. Mohammed Irfaan Ali, His Excellency Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, and the Cabinet for having allowed me and my colleagues these opportuni ties to further advance our studies.

Yours truly, Randy Mangru

You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Sincerely,

Page Foundation

Question 1:

Materials: Square Paper

Instructions:

Start by folding the square in half corner to corner to make a triangle.

Fold that triangle in half corner to corner to form a smaller triangle.

Unfold the previous fold to get the larger triangle. Fold the edges of the triangle into the newly-made crease to form a kite shape.

Fold the inside edges of the kite shape toward the outside edges.

Turn the paper upside down and blow gently into the open end. Your hovercraft should zoom away!

How it works:

The pocket under the hov ercrafts trap air and cre ate a zone of high pressure. Further, the air moving over the craft has lower pressure. This difference creates lift and gets rid of the friction that normally holds the paper in place on the table. Without friction holding it back, a lit tle breath is all it takes to get the hovercraft speeding on its

way!

Extra experiments: These little hovercrafts are so easy to make, it doesn’t take long to build some out of different materials (news paper, cardboard, alumini um foil) or different sizes see which ones drive the straight est, go the fastest, or take the most breath to get moving!

TO BE CONTINUED

APNU fails to attend meeting it requested with GECOM

…as GECOM debunks misinformation peddled by protesters in front of offices

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has been pushing for a meeting with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for some time, but on Tuesday, the party was a no-show.

GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj revealed on his social media page that Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton and his delegation did not attend a scheduled meeting on Tuesday. In an interview with this pub lication, GECOM Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward confirmed that a vir tual meeting had been scheduled for 13:00h on Tuesday.

“Today (Tuesday) when checks were made so that we could send the login de tails to the representatives, they informed that appar ently there was some logis tical error on their part and the letter was not received,” Ward said.

When asked for an up date on the meeting during a virtual press conference

on Tuesday, the Opposition Leader had said that GECOM had requested spe cifics on what he wanted to meet them about. According to him, APNU was in the process of complying with this request.

While Ward acknowl edged that GECOM had requested specifics on the meeting, she said that after not receiving any response from Norton, GECOM had decided to go ahead with the meeting anyway. She said that GECOM then proceed ed to send another letter

with details on the meeting, late last week.

“There was a subsequent letter that was sent, inform ing that the Commission had agreed to meet with them even though we had not received a response… and that is the letter that they indicated there might have been some logisti cal errors internally and it might not have reached the designated person. As a re sult of that, there was a re quest for the meeting to be rescheduled.”

It is expected that APNU wants to meet to discuss its

concerns about a clean vot ers’ list and possibly even the Revised List of Electors that is necessary for the con duct of Local Government Elections (LGE), which is scheduled for next year.

Norton has been vocal at successive press conferences about these issues and on Monday, members of the co alition party were seen in volved in small protests at various GECOM regional of fices, repeating his calls.

Misinformation

In fact, GECOM had cause to debunk what it termed as misinformation being peddled by the protest ers, who accused GECOM, among other things, of not publishing a Register of Voters within the statutory timeframe and not sanitis ing the list.

GECOM released a statement on Tuesday mak ing reference to the pro tests. According to the elec toral agency, claims that the

Register of Voters is overdue is nothing more than misin formation, since GECOM is well within the timeframe. Already, they have posted the Revised List of Electors in the public do main, in accordance with the regulations. GECOM also noted that the Register of Voters will be extracted on November 26, 2022, and distributed to Returning Officers countrywide.

GECOM Chair Claudette Singh

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton

Linden teacher’s murder Suspect found dead in abandoned house, die by suicide

One day after mur dering the mother of his child, the body of 28-year-old Leston Baynes was on Tuesday morn ing found in an abandoned house at Blueberry Hill, Wismar, Linden. According to Police, the man reported ly died by suicide.

Commander of the re gion, Hugh Winter said his ranks were looking for Baynes following the stab bing to death of 22-year-old Kelly Charlotte, a teacher of Lot 790 One Mile Extension, Wismar, Linden, which oc curred at about 21:15h on Sunday night.

However, at about 06:40h on Tuesday, Silver Baynes, a 54-year-old busi nessman of Wismar, Linden, called the Wismar Police Station and reported that he received information that his nephew, Leston Baynes’s body was found in an aban

doned house at Andy Ville, Wismar.

Shortly after, Police vis ited the scene. A rank exam ined the body, but no mark of violence was seen on the exposed part. The body was then escorted to the Linden

Hospital Complex where Baynes was pronounced dead.

The body was then tak en to the G Jetsto Funeral Home, awaiting a post-mor tem examination.

On Sunday night, Charlotte was brutally stabbed 27 times about her body by the suspect, who was also the father of her child.

The couple was recent ly separated and the wom an had sought refuge from the man at her sister’s res idence at One Mile Wismar, Linden, where the stabbing occurred.

Guyana Times under stands that the couple had a recent physical alterca tion, prompting the woman to get the Police involved. Afterward, she and her child moved to her sister’s resi dence.

While there, the sus

pect showed up under the pretext of wanting to spend some time with his child. However, as he was return ing the child to Charlotte, the man whipped out a knife and stabbed the woman bru tally about her body before making good his escape.

He was later found dead after hours of search by Police. (G9)

Bullying...

…from the west

The Venezuelan bullying continues unabated. Even before we got independence, they ran to the UN in 1962 to claim the PPP Government was harbouring Cuban guerrillas who were planning to invade them. Of course, they were egged on by the Americans – led by JFK himself, who visited them – for reasons of their own. But the Venezuelans seized the opportunity to raise their decades-old shrill insistence that they “wuz” robbed by Britain at the 1899 Arbitration.

Interestingly, the US was then upset with the UK and was watching Venezuela’s back!! So, does this mean we should now call in the US as an “indispensable” partycause they’re covering our back?? Maybe the Yanks are itching for a plausible reason to go after Maduro and his gang toe-to-toe!! And they tell the international community with a straight face that it ain’t for their oil reserves – the LARGEST in the world – but to save little ole us!! Think how noble that would sound!! America rushing to save a tiny country from that mean bully trying to grab TWO-THIRDS of its national territory – including its 11 million barrels of oil, when they have 300 million!!

And that’s exactly why Venezuela’s jumping up and down like a fowl-cock for the UK to be joined at the ICJ in the controversy they’ve concocted over our settled border!! They’d then be able to tell the world that the old Imperialist Great Britain is still taking advantage of them!! That’s all it is – and the World Court fully well knows this!! First, they were denying that the ICJ even had jurisdiction over the matter, and NOW they’re INCREASING their jurisdiction?? Jeez…what a set of slimy characters!!

But we Guyanese have to keep our eyes on the facts of the matter: and this MATTER is the CONTROVERSY the Venezuelans have created over the settled border. Under no way, shape or form are we discussing the substantive matter of the 1899 Award – that’s a settled matter. So, on ABSOLUTELY NO occasion should we talk about the Venezuelan “case” or “issue” or “dispute” – all of which implies there are TWO sides to a disagreement. The Venezuelans have NO SIDE - just a unilateral controversy they’ve created all on their lonesome about the 1966 Geneva Agreement. This outlined how we should go forward on it.

They can huff and puff all they want, but they’re just gonna get red in the face!! The border is a done deal, and the only change that the World Court might make is to return our half of Ankoko Island - which the Venezuelans seized through military force!!

In the meantime, let’s sing in unison from our rooftops – “not a blade of grass – not a spring cuirass”!!

…overseas Guyanese

Jeez…why can’t the political Opposition - PNC and AFC - come straight on the matter of the Voters’ List?? All they’re doing is playing to a (deliberately uninformed) base. That for the size of our population in Guyana, the number of voters – those over 18 – are out of whack! But no one has denied that. However, simultaneously they should have the decency to point out that the anomaly’s because our list includes overseas Guyanese CITIZENS. And that the Constitution forbids us from taking them off as citizens!!

Barbados has the same situation with their voters’ list being 92% of their resident population!!

The Opposition should come clean and call for all overseas citizens to be stricken off the National Registry of Registrants – from which the Voters’ List is extracted. But they’re then faced with a dilemma – will they be willing to do so seeing that most of their funding comes from those same overseas Guyanese?? No siree, Bob!!

They want to have their money and kick them too!!

…at COP 27

How many times will we be fooled by the rich countries that they’ll keep their word on Climate Change agreements they sign on to?? Ultimately, they’ll have to temper their ever-rising standard of living – and that they’ll NEVER do!!

Dead: Leston Baynes

Dead: Kelly Charlotte

NBS now on board with MMG for easy mortgage payments

Queues to make monthly mortgage payments will now be a thing of the past, as the New Building Society on Tuesday joined as the newest MMG biller – the first institution of its na ture to implement such in the country.

In the new era of dig ital payments, mortgage holders will find greater accessibility in processing their dues through MMG –a transaction which takes just eight seconds.

General Manager of MMG, Bobita Ram said this collaboration provides per sons with an avenue to pay their mortgages through over 820 agents across the country.

Moreover, they no longer need to visit NBS directly to deposit these funds, a time and resource consuming er rand.

“There is really no limit to mobile money in a world where digital transforma tion is the hot topic. As we go forward, it is not only about paying in Guyana but Guyanese everywhere will be able to pay their bills, top-ups or whatever it is they need to pay using MMG,” Ram said.

In recent years, MMG has recommitted to its mandate of extending its reach. Ram encouraged oth er banks to lead the way in providing innovative pay ment solutions and adopt ing mobile payment tech nologies.

For the coming year, more enhancement is prom ised to MMG users includ ing targeting the diaspora

to change the way business is done. In eight seconds, their transaction can be completed.

Easier access to pay Chairman of NBS, Dr Nanda Gopaul shared that this addition affords some 10,000 mortgages with a loan portfolio of over $52 billion with easier access to pay their dues.

“It is in response to our mortgagers who are throughout the length and breadth of this country wanting to come out of the line and come out of the habit of walking with bulks of money to transact their business…People can have service without frustration, without agony and without the risk of being robbed.”

In his remarks, se nior Minister with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh underlined

that the COVID pandem ic forced an accelerated de ployment of technology than could ever be achieved in a normal setting. There are more than

950 entities in Guyana that have the capability to ac cept MMG payment. These include major utility com panies, regional utility en tities, internet provid

ers, Government agencies, Local Government agen cies, educational institu tions, financial institutions, hire purchase companies, supermarkets, insurance

companies, insurance bro kers, shipping companies, restaurants among others.

Dr Singh said the aim is to have a country where ev ery person of age can access digital payment services and every home has access to connectivity.

“This is about making people’s lives easier. As long as you have a phone, you don’t need to leave your house to make your NBS payment…That transfor mation and modernisation to which we aspire is not only about new bridges, new highways, new roads, new hotels, new restaurants and new industries. That mod ernisation and transforma tion are also about mod ernising and transforming the way we do business,” Minister Singh disclosed.

NBS has been in exis tence for over 83 years and operates across the country. (G12)

Finance Minister Ashni Singh along with NBS Chairman, Dr Nanda Gopaul; MMG General Manager Bobita Ram, NBS Manager Anil Beharry and the Board of Directors at the launch on Tuesday

NGSA 2023 to be written on May 3 & 4

The National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) for 2023 is set to be written on May 3 and 4, as the Education Ministry works to return a sense of normalcy for the new academic year.

The last time the NGSA was executed under normal circumstances was in 2019. Following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, dates were pushed back coupled with different structures – a trend which continued in 2021 and 2022 owing to existing conditions and cir cumstances at that time.

As she made the an nouncement on Tuesday, Education Minister Priya Manickchand shared that the release of results for the NGSA will also return to the normal timeline.

“We want to resume some level of normalcy for 2023…Results are going to be ready by the 11th July, 2023,” Manickchand noti fied.

The Minister explained that this will give stake holders a chance to plan and prepare for the NGSA, without any guessing games.

“Hope you see that we don’t want you guessing. We want this to be a predi cable process as possible. We would like give you a chance to plan your holi days, plan your life and not be guessing and waiting on us at the Ministry. And so, we’re trying to make it as predictable as possible.”

Next year’s assessment will be based on the Grade Five curriculum and then a consolidated curriculum. However, it was reminded that concepts from Grades Three and Four are also tested.

“The children who will be taking the exam next year in 2023 came out of school in Grade Three and we’re very conscious of that

and the work that was lost that we cannot recatch or repair. So, that was a con scious, very studied, con sidered decision taken and we are very happy to be able to tell you this now,” the Education Minister ex pressed.

NGSA is spearhead ed by the Caribbean Examinations Council. Similar to the structure since 2016, CXC prepares the examination, super vises its administration, marks the scripts, con ducts quality checks and conducts consequential re views if any are requested.

Candidates are test ed in four subjects name ly, Mathematics, English, Science and Social Studies. The examination in each subject area consists of two papers. Paper One consists of multiple-choice items while Paper Two consists of essay type or open-end ed items.

This year, 16,223 stu dents were registered for the 2022 NGSA sitting. Some 3355 students scored above 75 per cent or in the fourth quartile ranking. Additionally, some 3456 scored above 50 per cent.

In order to increase the pass rate and prepare stu dents during COVID-19, the Ministry had launched the Quiz Me Platform on its website earlier last year which offered students the opportunity to practice NGSA-type questions and be given their results in stantaneously. The NGSA Booster Programme was also launched, whereby lo cal teachers recorded teach ing the topics featured on the examination. These videos were aired on the Guyana Learning Channel according to a timeta bled schedule and are also available for streaming on the Guyana Learning Channel’s YouTube chan nel.

This academic year marks the first since the pandemic for full opening of schools across the coun try – a significant factor in students’ preparation. (G12)

Aggressive, abusive teens caught on video punching cop

Two teenagers, who were caught on vid eo assaulting a police man on Tuesday, were ar rested.

Commander for Regional Division Six, Shivpersaud Bacchus confirmed that two teenagers from Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, were arrested for assaulting a Police rank, who was on duty at the time.

The incident occurred just after 08:00h.

Bacchus said an 18-yearold and 19-year-old are ex pected to be charged for multiple offences including assaulting a peace officer.

Their arrest came short ly after a video recording began circulating on social media, of the duo jointly at tacking and assaulting the Police rank.

Based on reports, the of ficer was providing them with traffic instructions and directions, which they failed to comply with, when an ar gument ensued.

The policeman, upon try

ing to caution the men, was knocked to the ground by the duo. He was then forced to get on his feet and defend himself from an aggressive and abusive Abrams, who

was seen in a video punch ing the cop about this body. Following the inci dent, an investigation was launched and the men were taken into to custody. (G9)

Education Minister Priya Manickchand

A screenshot of the teens assaulting the cop

CJIA conducts security assessment after theft from private jet

The Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) has conducted an assessment of its securi ty after a man succeeded in breaking into a private jet and escaped with a quantity of valuables.

The incident occurred in late October and accord ing to the Police, the suspect had dug a hole under the pe rimeter fence of the airport and made his way onto the tarmac where he broke into the aircraft.

According to a statement issued by the airport on Monday, it conducted an as sessment of its security fol lowing the theft and the fi nal report was handed over to Public Works Minister Juan Edghill on November 21.

The statement quotes the Minister as saying that the report presents a “holis tic view and evaluation of the airport’s security opera tions with the sole intention of improving these systems”.

The statement further noted that the report will be presented to Cabinet for re view and immediate action.

Contacted for more in formation on the report, Edghill declined to divulge.

Albert Rajram, 43, of Circuit Road, Timehri, East Bank Demerara, has since been charged with the crime. Having pleaded guilty to two counts of simple larceny, the man was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment for each charge. The sentences

will run concurrently.

The private jet in ques tion, McDonnell Douglas MD-87 bearing registration number N111RE, landed at the CJIA on October 26 with a group of business men. It was parked close to the hangar of the Guyana Defence Force Air Corps. Reports are that when the pilots returned to the air craft two days later to pre pare their flight for takeoff, they discovered that the main door to the plane had been breached.

An investigation was subsequently launched which led to the arrest of Rajram, who, during inter rogation, confessed to the crime.

Some of the stolen items, which included alcohol ic beverages and electron ic devices, were recovered. It was reported that upon his arrest, he was taken to his home, where the stolen items were found.

Reports indicate that this is not the first time an inci

dent of this nature occurred at the CJIA. According to reports, following two prior incidents of theft, the CJIA was required to implement tighter security measures –something which was seem ingly not done.

“We didn’t have to wait for the theft from this jet to beef up security. This mat ter was addressed since June and had all the stake holders involved done all what was supposed to be done, we would not have that situation,” Edghill had told Stabroek News earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the securi ty assessment report was prepared by the Airport Security Taskforce, which includes representatives from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Customs, Immigration, Guyana Police Force, Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit, Guyana Defence Force and Guyana Fire Service.

New $28.7M Swan Primary School commissioned

To provide equita ble access to qual ity education to Guyana’s chil dren, a $28.7 million prima ry school was commissioned on Tuesday at Swan Village, Soesdyke-Linden Highway, by Education Minister Priya Manickchand, Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall and the Regional Democratic Council of Region Four.

The school was official ly opened on September 5, 2022, with 109 pupils and six teachers.

Delivering remarks at the ceremony, Minister Manickchand underscored that the Government will continue to deliver on its promises to ensure that all citizens have access to high-quality education in Guyana.

She added that the

is that as a Government, we will not only put the money into infrastructure, but we also must make sure we’re monitoring to get results from your children. If you get Yarrowkabra Secondary you must be able to go there and

the Government remains steadfast in its efforts to en sure that all communities are developed adequately with schools and facilities with all of the amenities and utilities.

Acting Regional Education Officer Stembiso Grant said in 2022, invest ments were made to ensure there is equity and equality in education and promised 2023 would be no different.

Prior to the establish ment of this institution, stu dents from the community had to travel to neighbouring schools at Yarrowkabra and Kuru Kuru.

Swan Village Chairman, Fenton Ragunath thanked the Government for its com mitment to community de velopment.

Ministry is committed to pro viding equal and equitable educational opportunities for students across Guyana.

“Our commitment to you

get Grade Ones, Twos and Threes. That is our aim and our commitment to you.”

Meanwhile, Minister Dharamlall highlighted that

Present at the commis sioning were Region Four’s Regional Chairman, Daniel Seeram, teachers and pupils of the primary school, and parents.

Education Minister Priya Manickchand along with Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall with students at the commissioning of the school

A classroom inside the new primary school

CANU unearths $10M in ganja on Corentyne

Ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) unearthed a quantity of marijuana at Corentyne in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) on Tuesday.

According to CANU, their ranks conducted an operation on the sea dam in No 78 Village Corentyne, Berbice, and a thorough search of the area revealed several parcels of suspect ed cannabis hidden behind a wooden structure located on the sea dam.

Officers then made checks around the area in an attempt to identify and apprehend the individuals involved but were unsuc cessful. The narcotic drug was escorted to CANU’s Skeldon office, Corentyne, Berbice, where it tested positive as cannabis.

According to CANU, the illegal substance weighed 79.6kg, with a street value of approximately $10 mil lion.

An investigation has been launched.

Earlier this month, CANU ranks found $14.3 million in ganja, along with a shotgun and ammo off the Corentyne Coast. The discovery was made along

the coast of No 47 Village, Corentyne, Berbice.

According to CANU, its ranks with support from the Guyana Defence Force’s (GDF) Coast Guard intercepted two vessels on the suspicion that they were transporting canna bis.

Despite the rough seas

and inclement weath er, CANU said the team boarded both vessels to conduct searches, during which they discovered one shotgun, a quantity of am munition as well as sus pected cannabis on one of the vessels.

Several bags containing suspected cannabis were

also discovered on the oth er vessel.

The total weight of the cannabis found is 117 ki lograms, or 257.9 pounds, and it carries a local street value of $14.3 million.

Four suspects were ar rested on the two ves sels. They are 44-yearold Adrian Hetmyer and 20-year-old Daniel Persaud, both from Sheet Anchor, Berbice, as well as Surinamese nationals, 41-year-old Suren Mohan and 48-year-old Imami Fizal.

The men were escort ed to CANU headquarters with the suspected narcot ics, shotgun, and ammuni tion.

The suspected cannabis was tested and weighed at CANU Headquarters.

On the first vessel that was intercepted, which was carrying the two Guyanese nationals, a total of 105.8kg, or 233 pounds, of marijuana was found.

Onboard the second vessel, which was carrying the two Surinamese, was another 11.2 kg, or 24.6 pounds, of cannabis along with the shotgun and am munition. (G9)

APNU fails to...

According to GECOM, opening of the registers for public scrutiny is sched uled to start on December 1. They therefore made it clear the protesters are be ing misleading.

When it comes to calls for a clean voters’ list, GECOM reminded that Guyanese citizens or com monwealth citizens domi ciled in Guyana, cannot be removed from the list un less through death reports or Claims and Objections. GECOM went on to urge persons to stop peddling misinformation, lest it af fects voters’ confidence.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has already designat ed December 12, 2022, as nomination day for the up coming LGE, which are set to be held next year March. On nomination day, par ties make their way to a designated location, where their representatives are usually required to submit their list of candidates to the Chief Election Officer, as well as sign on to the re

quired documents, such as a code of conduct, to con test the elections.

These representatives are usually accompanied by a large retinue of their supporters, dressed in par ty colours, although all the parties who submit sym bols do not always make a grand entrance or even go at all.

Parties, voluntary groups and individuals are meanwhile required to submit their symbols in accordance with Section 48 (1) of the Local Authorities (Elections) Act, Cap 28:03. The law requires that these symbols be submit ted at least 21 days before nomination day.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), has already sig nalled its readiness to con test the upcoming LGE.

As far back as August, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, who is the General Secretary of the PPP/C, had said that the party is in preparation mode for LGE. (G3)

The marijuana found by CANU ranks

ExxonMobil Guyana renews sponsorship of energy conference in 2023

The International Energy Conference and Expo Guyana 2023 (IECEG 2023) has announced ExxonMobil Guyana as the premier spon sor of the second edition of the Conference & Expo.

Commenting on the sponsorship, President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge said, “The event’s theme, ‘Harnessing Energy for Development’, aligns with our commitment to sus tainably produce energy and products to meet society’s needs in a manner that pro tects people, the environment and communities where we operate.”

Routledge added, “Guyana is a thought-leader on low carbon development

with an ambitious strategy to secure growth and pros perity for current and future generations. These creden tials, I believe, put Guyana in the driver’s seat on energy issues regionally if not glob ally, and the International Energy Conference is an ide al platform to learn of devel opments and engage in the debate. ExxonMobil Guyana is proud to be associated with this event and is excited to be part of the transforma tional journey taking place in Guyana.”

The conference, which is expected to assemble policy

makers, academics, industry professionals and entrepre neurs from around the world, will again see the participa tion of Heads of State and Government, and global en ergy thought-leaders, most notably, Professor Jeffrey D Sachs, world-renowned eco nomics professor, bestselling author, innovative educator, and global leader in sustain able development.

In acknowledging the sponsorship from ExxonMobil Guyana, Chief Executive Officer of the International Energy Conference and Expo Guyana, Kurt Baboolall said,

“We are grateful for the spon sors and exhibitors who are committing resources to sup porting the conference and driving the energy conversa tion.”

Baboolall added, “ExxonMobil, as is demon strated in Guyana, is an un paralleled leader in energy development today and re mains committed to meet ing current and future needs for development. The rap id development of energy re sources being undertaken by ExxonMobil Guyana has po sitioned Guyana in the mid dle of the current global dis cussions.”

At full capacity, this year’s conference will feature 35 sponsors, 300 exhibitors, and 1200 delegates. Over 60

per cent of all places have been taken and the remain ing openings have become extremely competitive to se cure.

Meanwhile, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat, who attended the announcement, signalled Government’s continued support of the conference and expo, saying that “The Government welcomes the International Energy Conference and Expo 2023. This is the second energy expo in Guyana showcas ing the opportunities and what Guyana has to offer to the world. Guyana of course is one of the newest oil-pro ducing countries in the Latin America and Caribbean re gion, and we have been mov

ing at an unprecedented rate in developing our oil and gas sector and at the same time we have been incentivising and working towards devel oping the traditional non-oil sectors.”

Bharrat further ex plained, “[The IECEG] It’s not just about showcasing Guyana as an oil-produc ing country but showcasing Guyana as an investment destination, a land that offers many opportunities across all sectors.”

The conference and expo is now entering its sec ond year under the theme “Harnessing Energy for Development” and will be held from February 14-17, 2023, at the Guyana Marriott Hotel, Georgetown, Guyana.

Ramsammy’s Ruminations

The AFC – which one of their MPs will walk if they are recalled?

The AFC announced this week that they will no longer be part of the APNU coalition. For the PNC, the AFC have not really been part of the coalition for a long time now. As far as the PNC are concerned, like the one-man and one-woman parties in APNU, the AFC were also already assimilated into APNU. In any case, now that the AFC have announced they will leave, the struggle to maintain their seats in Parliament begins. Aubrey Norton, the Leader of the PNC, has always made known his position – the AFC did not deserve nine parliamentary seats. Now Norton’s position is just as pellucid – the AFC must give up their nine seats. The AFC’s only hope now is that David Granger will not recall the nine AFC MPs in Parliament.

For the next few weeks, we will witness Granger’s game of making Norton come to him on his knees and beg. For the AFC, they are hoping that Norton has an ounce of dignity still somewhere hidden in his body, and refuse to beg Granger.

But what happens if the nine AFC MPs are recalled? How many of the nine will remain as members of the AFC? Remember how quickly Geeta Chandan-Edmond left the AFC and jumped over to the PNC?

Since Valentine 2015, several AFC senior members across Guyana have jumped ship to the PNC, and even to the PPP. Remember when -- after the long five-month fiasco, when the PNC/APNU/AFC tried to rig the March 2, 2020 elections’ results -- APNU/AFC announced their parliamentary list, they included a WPA member that the WPA objected to? The nominated member then quit the WPA and joined the PNC. She now sits in Parliament as the head of a one-woman party which joined APNU. For sure, these things must be worrying the big-wigs of AFC. Maybe Ramjattan would remain in the AFC. Maybe David Patterson and Cathy Hughes would remain in the AFC. But what about the other six AFC MPs? Poor Beverly Alert, she waited so long, and now that she has taken Raphael Trotman’s place, she may now be recalled!

The AFC now are just marginally better than the one-woman or one-man parties in APNU. But any loss of one of their present MPs would bring them closer to the one-man, one-woman parties. It is not like they have more than a handful of supporters out in the communities. It is why they could not dare compete in the Local Government Elections, 2023. Had they stupidly decided to participate in LGE 2023, they would have had to put together, before December 12, a list of candidates. There is not a single place in Guyana that they would have been able to put up a full list of candidates. Just as they now depend on Granger to save their seats and avoid another exodus, so they depend on the sad excuse that the Voters’ List is not credible. They have run out of crazy ideas to save themselves. They cannot now accuse the Russians; they cannot accuse the ABCE Diplomatic Corps. They are on their own, and they are drowning.

Let us not forget also that soon after the 2015 elections, when Moses Nagamootoo was appointed Prime Minister, he essentially donned the PNC jacket. For a brief moment in 2019/2020, he asserted his AFC credentials because he wanted to be considered for the PM position on the APNU/AFC slate for the March 2, 2020 elections. Once Ramjattan was nominated by the AFC, Nagamootoo proceeded to “diss” the AFC, acting more like a staunch, long-time PNC member. Nagamootoo attended every function since 2015 in memory of Forbes Burnham. Nagamootoo showed up every single time to pay homage to Forbes Burnham. He had become a Burnham hero-worshipper.

The AFC continue to inflict wounds on themselves. Instead of standing up for principles, they find every weird excuse and method to display their hate of the PPP, and particularly of Bharrat Jagdeo. The only reason the AFC now exists is not based on fighting for the Guyanese people, it is based solely on vendetta against Bharrat Jagdeo and the PPP. A political party cannot exist on personal hate. It has to have the guts to stand up for the right thing. When the PNC walked out of Parliament before the Constitutional Reform Bill recently, the AFC had an opportunity to stand up for themselves and to stand up for Guyana. They chose to walk, like a loyal poodle with Norton and the PNC. It was yet another self-inflicted wound, proving to the few who still hope that the AFC can be a platform for objective, prudent policy alternative to the PNC and the Government.

The truth is that in walking away from the coalition in order to get their bearings again, the AFC are risking complete implosion. Should they lose those seats, can the AFC count on all of the nine MPs to remain members of the party? Not even Ramjattan can say unequivocally yes. He will remember December 21, 2018, when the coalition lost the No-Confidence Motion in Parliament. The AFC was confident that all its members would stand in solidarity. Charrandas surprised them; they should not have been. January 2023 is going to be another time when the AFC leadership will look at each other and ask, ‘You too?’

Body found under bridge at Brickdam identified

Days after the body of a man was dis covered stuffed un der a bridge at Schuler and Gomes Optical Services along Brickdam, Georgetown, he was identi fied.

Police have since con firmed that the man is Abdool Shaheed Khan, 77, of Lot 137 Best Road Squatting Area, West Bank Demerara (WBD). While it is still unclear how the man ended up under the bridge, and how he turned up dead, investigators revealed that an autopsy will soon be con ducted to know the cause of death.

Just a few days ago, Police had ruled out foul play into the man’s death, even though an autopsy was not conducted.

“The body was removed from under the bridge and

examined, and no mark of violence was seen. The body was then escort ed to Georgetown Public Hospital, where it was pro nounced dead on arrival by a doctor,” their report read.

Last Wednesday, inves tigators were called to the Brickdam area after receiv ing reports that a body was seen under a bridge in the vicinity of the Schuler and Gomes Optical Services.

Upon arriving at the scene, cops spent hours trying to break the bridge, which is partially con cealed, to reach the body.

Neighbours told this publication that for days they had been smelling a foul odour in the area, and had thought it was emanat ing from the body of a dead animal.

One man told this pub lication that the smell had become unbearable for him and his family, and he had been hoping that something could soon have been done in regard to the odour.

Reports are that in an effort to get rid of the smell, the owner of the Schuler and Gomes business place had decided to clean the trench in front of the prop erty, and thus had discov ered the body under the concrete bridge. (G9)

Dr Leslie Ramsammy

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

Abdool Shaheed Khan was found under a bridge

Roxanne Myers wants to participate in election CoI

Counsel for former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) Roxanne Myers, whose name has come up several times in witness testimonies at the 2020 elec tions Commission of Inquiry (CoI), is seeking to cross-ex amine said witnesses.

Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes of Hughes, Fields and Stoby, confirmed in an interview with this publi cation that he wrote to the CoI. Hughes is represent ing Myers at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on var ious electoral fraud related charges.

“I wrote enquiring wheth er I would be allowed to cross-examine the witness es, on behalf of one of my cli ents,” Hughes said, adding that the letter was sent on Monday and he has so far not received a response. While this publication was unable to reach CoI Secretary Javed Shadick, he was quoted in sections of the media indicat

Former GECOM DCEO Roxanne Myers

ing that the commission will soon respond.

Meanwhile, Hughes was asked if Myers herself would be taking the stand during the CoI’s public hearings. The commission has been vocal in calling for persons who have been implicated in testimo ny to come forward and tes tify. According to Hughes, he is unaware of any such plan and was moreover doubtful that Myers would be testify ing.

The CoI was last held on November 10. The CoI took a break following the testi

monies of several witnesses and is expected to resume its work from November 28 and continue until the middle of December.

The November 10 hear ing, heard testimony from Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Chief Executive Officer Sase Singh, who was a scrutineer during that period and Information Technology (IT) Manager Aneal Giddings.

Singh told the commission that he was a supernumerary agent for the PPP/C and on March 4, 2020, after former Returning Officer Clairmont

Mingo took ill and had to be escorted from the Region Four Command Centre at the Ashmins Building by med ical officials, the then Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield provided two new Deputy Returning Officers (DROs) to continue the veri fication process.

However, Singh recalled that there was a “fundamen tal difference” with the pro cess after the two GECOM officials were using pre-pre pared spreadsheets and not the SoPs, as was done pri or, to verify the votes. He said that Lowenfield had ex plained that this new meth od would add efficiency to the process.

He disclosed that he had no idea what was on the spreadsheets, how they were prepared, by whom, us ing which data and when. Despite objections by the agents from the various po litical parties, Singh said the GECOM officials continued using the spreadsheets to rec oncile their figures with that

of the SoPs in possession of the party agents and observ ers present.

Copies of these SoPs are given to agents of political parties and accredited ob servers at the polling station after votes are counted. The stakeholders then use their copies to verify figures be ing used by the Returning Officers to ascertain the votes from each district.

During this verification process, however, stakehold ers continuously observed discrepancies between the figures being called out from the spreadsheets and those contained in 17 out of 21 SoPs verified. According to Singh, this led to loud outbursts and objections by the par ty agents, resulting in CEO Lowenfield intervening.

He noted that while Lowenfield did not enquire from the DROs where the figures on the spreadsheets were derived from, he did conduct an exercise with a sample of three SoPs from the 21 and reverted to the origi

nal procedure during which the discrepancies with the spreadsheet numbers were confirmed.

Giddings recalled that on March 5, 2020, at about 10:45h, he and his staff in the Tabulation Centre, which is separate from the area where the District Four votes were being reconciled, were in formed that there was a bomb threat to the building and that they should evacuate.

The Manager said they immediately complied with the exception of his depu ty, who remained to back-up the data they had compiled thus far on a flash drive after which he also left.

Other persons who tes tified on previous days in clude Assistant Police Commissioner and for mer Divisional Commander for Region Four, Edgar Thomas; Chief Elections Officer Vishnu Persaud and Ronald Stewart, who was in charge of security for GECOM during that fateful period.

DAILY HOROSCOPES

Gauge your every move. You will fall behind if you miscalculate what you can handle. Don’t ignore how much prepara tion is necessary to reach your destina tion. Go above and beyond.

(March 21-April 19)

(April 20-May 20)

Make plans with someone who puts a smile on your face and offers mental stimulation. Your discussions will open a window of opportunity and help you discover what you want to do next.

Refuse to get into an emotional sit uation with someone who tends to em bellish or overreact. Stick to the truth and pay attention to detail, and you will avoid a troublesome argument.

(May 21-June 20)

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

Give whatever you do a twist that makes you stand out. Getting others to notice what you offer will lead to valu able opportunities. Broaden your hori zons and pursue your interests.

Know your audience. Preparation will help you address concerns that res onate with the people you are trying to impress. Mix business with pleasure. Seek support from like-minded people.

It’s up to you to change; don’t wait for someone to do the work for you. Digging in may be necessary if you want to make a difference. You must be willing to make a serious commitment.

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

SUDOKU

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

Stick close to home. Don’t feel the need to share your thoughts and feel ings. Arguing will not help you solve is sues. Focus on making your space func tional, and you’ll find it easier to be productive.

Put your heart and soul into getting things done to your specifications. Share information with like-minded people, and you’ll save time and money when putting your ideas to the test.

Be careful what you wish for and with whom you discuss private matters, and you’ll avoid confusion. Don’t trust anyone to do things your way or to pass along valid information.

Participate in enjoyable activities and spend time with loved ones. How you conduct business will affect how oth ers view you. Friendly banter and a gen erous spirit will pay off.

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

Put your energy where it will war rant a positive outcome, and don’t stop until you are satisfied with the results. An opportunity will help you make a name for yourself.

Look for problems before you commit to something. Monitor what others do and how they feel before you share your beliefs. Having an idea of what you want and what will work for you will be key.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

ARCHIE PEANUTS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

DILBERT

Rose Hall Bakewell advance to Lower Corentyne quarter finals

-as massive tournament gets underway

Despite problems with the weather making sever al grounds unplayable and the sudden onset of rainy conditions hampering play, the Berbice Cricket Board has com menced its 2022 BCB/Dave West Indian Imports 40-over second division tournament, which involves hosting five dif ferent sub-divisional tourna ments which would each pro vide a champion. The five inter-zone champions would then go on to play for the overall Berbice championship.

The five zones are: West Berbice, Lower Corentyne, Upper Corentyne, New Amsterdam/Canje and Berbice River.

Almost 80 teams are par ticipating in this tournament, the most for any tournament in Guyana, and outstanding performers from the first two rounds of the tournament include na tional youth players Jonathan Rampersaud, who scored an im pressive 93 against Belvedere United; and Adrian Hetmyer, who grabbed a five-wicket haul on his second division debut.

Results of some of the matches played are as follows:

Rose Hall Town Bakewell defeated Belvedere United by

83 runs at Area H Ground.

Batting first, RHT Bakewell scored 208 for 7 off 35 overs, with national under-19 all-round er Jonathan Rampersaud scoring 93, Romesh Bharat 43, and Ryan Kissoonlall 18. Bowling for Belvedere United, E. Williams took 5 for 24 off 7 overs, including a hattrick. he was supported by K. Kamaladin, who grabbed 1 for 31 off 6 overs.

In reply, Belvedere United were bowled out for 125 in 26.3 overs, with Eon Velaidum scor ing 44, Reon Malcom 24, and R Dillion 18. Bowling for RHT Bakewell, Matthew Pottaya took 3 for 30 off 4.3 overs, Collis Butts took 2 for 15 off 7 overs, Jeremey Sandia took 2 for 24 off 5 overs, and Tyreece Sealey took 2 for 27 off 6 overs.

University of Guyana Elites triumphed over Kildonan by 167 runs at Chesney Ground. UG Elites, batting first, scored 242 all out in 35 overs, with G. Ramnarine blasting 81 and Eon Nunes 15. They were the principal scorers. Bowling for Kildonan, R. Seelall took 2 for 45 off 8 overs, and C. McKenzie took 2 for 32 off 7 overs.

In reply, Kildonan were bowled out for 75 in 10.4 overs, with C. McPherson’s 19 being

the score to reach double fig ures. Bowling for UG Elites, Vivik Harripersaud grabbed 5 for 30 off 5 overs, and Collis Greene took 4 for 34 off 5.4 overs. This fast-bowling pair dismantled the Kildonan bat ting lineup.

Rose Hall Canje ‘A’ trounced Rose Hall Canje President’s X1 by 10 wickets at Rose Hall Canje Community Centre ground. RH Canje President’s X1 took first strike, but could manage only 70 before be ing bowled out in 15.3 overs. Feedee Daniels with 15 was the only batsman to reach double figures. Bowling for Rose Hall Canje ‘A’, Guyana’s under-15 all-rounder Adrian Hetmyer grabbed 5 for 15 off 3 overs, and Enrique Mickle took 2 for 9 off

2 overs.

In reply, Rose Hall Canje ‘A’ raced to 70 without loss off 6 overs. Avishkar Persaud scored 43.

Cotton Tree defeated Bath Sports Club by 6 wickets at Cotton Tree Ground. Batting first, after winning the toss, Bath were bowled out for 117 in 23 overs. A. Anandram scored 29, H. Singh 20, and S. Sugrim 18. Bowling for Cotton Tree, Fawaz Gaffoor grabbed 4 for 22 from 7 overs, and Waqar Hassan took 4 for 32 from 7 overs.

In reply, Cotton Tree reached 120 for 6 in 16 overs, with Nick Ramsaroop scoring 53 and Daniel Harrynarine scoring 35.

Ramnarine Memorial

beat Kildonan by 3 wickets at Kildonan. Hosts Kildonan, tak ing first strike, were bowled out for 145 in 21 overs. C. McKenzie scored 28 and S. Seelall 15.

Bowling for Ramnarine Memorial, R. Latcha grabbed 5 for 23 off 5 overs, and T. Leitch took 2 for 16 off 2 overs.

In reply Ramnarine Memorial scored 147 for 7 in 26 overs, with J. Holder con tributing 35, Collis Gray 23 and R. Gray 17 not out. Bowling for Kildonan, S. Seelall grabbed 3 for 30 off 4 overs.

Cotton Tree brushed aside Achievers by 61 runs at Cotton Tree Ground. Cotton Tree won the toss and elected to bat first. They scored 257 for 9 from 40 overs. Roshan Gaffoor made 71, Pooran Persaud made 68 not out, and Fawaz Gaffoor made 40.

Bowling for Achievers, Omari Arthur took 2 for 35 from 6 overs, and Arthley Bailey took 2 for 39 from 8 overs. Achievers were bowled out for 196 in 32.4 overs, with Arthur Bailey scor ing 80, Gladwyn Johnson scor ing 30 and Raffel Estraido 25.

Bowling for Cotton Tree, Waqar Hassan took 4 for 24 from 7.4 overs, and Nashad Gaffoor took 2 for 54 from 8 overs.

Rose Hall Town Bakewell defeated Tamarind Root Cricket Club by 20 runs at Area H ground. Rose Hall Town Bakewell made 104 all out in 35.3 overs, with Nyron Hicks’s 23, Romesh Bharat’s 16, and Ryan Algu’s 14 being the principal scores. Bowling for Tamarind Root; Kelly Dagraj grabbed 3 for 16 off 7 overs while Sewnauth Joseph took 2 for 19 off 4 overs.

Tamarind Root, in reply, made 84 all out in 26.2 overs, with D. Rangasammy scoring 19, and Avinash Looknauth 16, as the principal scorers. Bowling for Rose Hall Town Bakewell, Tyreece Sealey took 3 for 10 off 5.2 overs, with 2 maid ens; Matthew Pottaya took 3 for 10 off 4 overs, with 2 maidens; and Jonathan Rampersaud took 2 for 12 off 8 overs, with 4 maidens.

Blairmont Blazers beat D’Edward by 5 wickets at the D’Edward Ground. D’Edward were bundled out for 93 in 27.2 overs, with K. Bissondial mak ing 37 and Keith Milne mak ing 21. Bowling for Blairmont Blazers, Parmanand Ramdhan grabbed 4 for 26, Nigel Deodat took 3 for 20, and Zameer Nazeer took 2 for 19. Blairmont Blazers in reply made 94 for 5 off 14 overs, with Nigel Deodat scoring 24, Parmanand Ramdhan 22 not out, and Zameer Nazeer 20. Bowling for D’Edward, R. Moore and N. Rampersaud each took 2 wick ets

Port Mourant bettered Tain/ Block 4 by 7 wickets at Port Mourant Community Centre. Tain/Block 4 scored 60 all out off 15 overs, with M. Mangal top-scoring with 30. Bowling for Port Mourant, Joshua Ramsammy took 4 for 27 off 7 overs, and T. Narchany took 2 for 2 off 3 overs. In reply, Port Mourant reached 61 for 3 off 10 overs, with P. Tiluram scoring 25.

Whim outfought University of Guyana Elites by 4 wickets. UG Elites scored 128 all out in 35 overs, with Dave Ramgolam making 28, Fardeen Khan 25, and Chandrashakar Mangal 17. Bowling for Whim, K. Deonarine took 6 for 36 off 8 overs, and T. Harrinarine took 2 for 28 off 8 overs. Whim reached 129 for 6 in 28 overs, with Jai Tika scoring 36, T. Harinarine 24 and K. Deonarine 14. Bowling for UG Elites, Fardeen Khan took 4 for 17 off 7 overs.

Guymine trashed

Edinburgh by 189 runs at the Guymine ground. Guymine scored a mammoth 300 all out in 33.2 overs, with Glendon De Cunha making 92 and Marlon Shepherd 36. Bowling for Edinburgh, George Degese grabbed 4 for 44. In reply, Edinburgh were bowled out for 111 in 25 overs, with George Degese scoring 30. Bowling for Guymine, John Ganshaw took 4 for 11 off 6 overs.

Port Mourant defeat ed Sand Reef Cricket Club by 170 runs at Port Mourant. Port Mourant scored 257 all out in 39.2 overs. Rampersaud Ramnauth scored 50, Joshua Ramsammy 36 and Rampertab Ramnauth 33.

Bowling for Sand Reef CC, R. Balkarran took 2 for 27 off 8 overs, Y. Dhoray took 2 for 38 off 8 overs, and M. Jagmohan took 2 for 39 off 5 overs. In reply, Sand Reef CC were bowled out for 87 in 29.4 overs. Saif Baksh made 26, and Jameer Azeez and Amit Singh both scored 18. Bowling for Port Mourant, P. Tilakram took 3 for 6 off 3.4 overs, and Joshua Harrichan took 2 for 10 off 5 overs.

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National Under-15 all-rounder Adrian Hetmyer grabbed a 5-wicket haul on debut

National Under-19 all-rounder Jonathan Rampersaud scored 93

BCB/Dave West Indian 40-over 2nd division tourney…

Resurfacing of Reliance ground almost completed

President of the Reliance Sports Ground Development Committee (RSGDC), Trevis Simon, has expressed satis faction with the resurfacing of the venue as the comple tion of the project looms.

The RSGDC has worked in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and the Regional Democratic Council of Region 2 (Essequibo Coast). G$2 million was given to the project. To complete the job, 140 loads of earth and 40 loads of sand were thrown on the ground to help with its upliftment.

“I [am] delighted with the project so far, and we are also excited to see that the ground will be looking in better shape now. It was low, and now it (is) raised to about eight inches, which will be good even if rain falls heavily,” Simon related.

Simon has also expressed gratitude to the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) for help to make this a real ity.

The project was awarded earlier this year, but due to the inclement weather, work began only in mid-October.

“Thankfully, we got go ing several weeks ago, and now, with good weather pre vailing, the job should fin ish by end of next week; we are in the process of the final stages.

“I must say thanks to the RDC of Region 2, and this kind of input will do a world of good to keep our youths ac tive, when you have a won derful facility,” Simon men tioned.

Since formation of the RSGDC in 2017, there has been a total transformation of the ground, with a main pavilion, dressing room, toi lets, canteen and a brandnew fence all being in stalled.

Earlier this year as well, $10 million were given for development of this ground. The funds have been spent on those mentioned above. That funding came from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport through its devel opmental youth programme.

“I can proudly say that we at the RSGDC are ex tremely happy with the

progress so far. this is a ground for everyone, and I am glad the youths are ben efiting,” Simon disclosed.

Apart from cricket com petitions being played there, other sports, such as foot ball, are regular featured too. Additionally, Heritage activities were carried out there, along with The Games last September.

As part of the RSGDC’s continuous plans, flood lights would soon be in stalled there sooner rather than later.

“This will certainly bring out the youths and families together. It always (is) fas cinating to play sports un

der the lights, and we at the RSGDC will make ev ery effort to have permanent lights at the ground,” Simon optimistically revealed.

Meanwhile, the ground had been a venue to help hone a plethora of estab lished cricketers who went on to represent Essequibo, Guyana and even West Indies. Some of those play ers are: Ronsford Beaton, Mohindra Boodram, Clain Williams, Rovendra Mandolall, Balchand Shivamber (deceased), Lawrence Farnum, Rovindra Parsram, Alfred Maycock, Mark Austin and the late Shivanandan Madholall.

GFF to conduct first-ever females-only CONCACAF Level C Coaching Course

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) will this week conduct the first-ever females-only Concacaf women’s ‘Level C’ coaching course in Guyana. This groundbreaking course, which caters to 24 as piring female coaches from nine regional associations across Guyana, represents the GFF’s continued invest ment in women’s football, and will be delivered through the Federation’s Coach Education Department from November 24 - 29 at the GFF National Training Centre at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

Theoretical and practi cal sessions will be conduct ed by GFF acting Technical Director Bryan Joseph and coach Linsworth Gilbert un der the guidance and over sight of Concacaf’s Technical Expert and Coach Developer

Anton Corneal.

Guyana is the fifth coun try in the Concacaf region to conduct the females-on ly Level C coaching course, which aims to provide over 300 women across the re gion with the opportunity to initiate their pathway into coaching.

“The vision of President

Forde is to raise the stan dard of women’s football across Guyana by invest ing heavily in the educa tion and certification of our female coaches. This course is just the beginning of the long-term support and in vestment the GFF Technical Department plans to make in our dedicated female coaches. The knowledge and experience these coach es will gain from this course will have a tremendously positive impact on the qual ity of players they will go on to develop in the coming years, which will contribute vastly to the improvement of our national teams,” Joseph has noted.

Participants will be for mer and current nation al players, club and school coaches, and community coaches. The course starts at 8am and ends at 5 pm daily.

leave Manchester United with immediate effect

that Ronaldo's exit was "mutually agreed".

"The club thanks him for his immense contri bution across two spells at Old Trafford," said a Manchester United state ment.

They wished "him and his family well for the fu ture" and added "everyone at Manchester United re mains focused on continu ing the team's progress under Erik ten Hag and working together to deliver

success on the pitch".

United are fifth in the Premier League in Ten Hag's first season as man ager, with the season taking a break for the World Cup in Qatar.

Ronaldo is with Portugal at the tournament, and is set to captain them in their opening Group H game against Ghana on Thursday.

He talked to the media in Qatar on Monday, saying that he will "speak when he wants", and his row with

United will not "shake" the Portugal squad.

Ronaldo, who scored 145 goals in 346 appearances for United, left Juventus to re join the Old Trafford club in August 2021 - 11 years after he left to join Real Madrid.

He had just over seven months remaining on his £500,000-a-week contract with United, and his depar ture leaves him free to sign for another club, including one in the Premier League, when the transfer window

opens in January.

"Following conversa tions with Manchester United, we have mutual ly agreed to end our con tract early," said a state ment from Ronaldo. "I love Manchester United, and I love the fans; that will nev er ever change. However, it feels like the right time for me to seek a new challenge. I wish the team every suc cess for the remainder of the season and for the fu ture." (BBC)

Portugal forward

Cristiano Ronaldo is to leave Manchester United with immediate ef fect.

The decision follows a controversial interview in which the 37-year-old crit icised the club and said he had "no respect" for manag er Erik ten Hag.

Both parties have said

Archery Guyana arrive at the XXVI Panamerican Archery Championships

Two of Archery Guyana’s mem bers, namely Wayne DeAbreu and Devin Persaud Permaul, are participating in the XXVI Panamerican and V Para-Panamerican Archery Championships in Santiago, Chile from November 21-27, 2022.

This tournament is a World Ranking event and will be the main quali fier tournament for the SANTIAGO 2023 Pan American and Parapan American Games. The tournament is being held at the Bernardo O'Higgins National Military Academy in Las Condes County in the capital city, Santiago.

Wayne De Abreu, when contacted for his thoughts prior to this event, declared: “I am happy to be compet ing on an international lev el again, as the world has

been a mess the last few years. I can’t convey the pride that is felt attending these competitions, seeing the Guyana flag on display, and knowing it is because you are there representing your country.

“I have been practising as often as a job and fam ily allows, really trying to nail down that 'feel' that accompanies that perfect shot. I am very excited to do my best, and learn and grow from the experience. I am most grateful to Archery Guyana and the Government of Guyana for making this trip pos sible.”

The Board of Directors of Archery Guyana wish es its two members all the best in Chile, and encour ages Guyana to stand be fore them as they represent GUYANA on the interna tional stage.

Day 3: FIFA World Cup Roundup, Qatar 2022…

Saudi Arabia stun Argentina 2-1 in Group C opener

Saudi Arabia pro duced one of the big gest shocks in World Cup history when they came from behind to beat Argentina 2-1 in their Group C opener on Tuesday.

Argentina’s La Albiceleste, who are one of the favourites to triumph at Qatar 2022, started well at Lusail Stadium, and went ahead after 10 minutes, courtesy of Lionel Messi’s penalty. But

Lionel Scaloni’s men saw three efforts ruled out for offside before half-time, giving Saudi Arabia a re prieve that they took full advantage of in the space of five minutes in the second half.

Saleh Al Shehri pulled Herve Renard’s side level, before Salem Al Dawsari sealed a famous win soon after with a sumptuous strike from the edge of the penalty area.

Mohammed Al Owais de nied Messi inside the open ing two minutes, but he was powerless to stop the super star’s cool penalty after 10 minutes, the spot-kick giv en after Saud Abdulhamid had hauled down Leandro

Paredes.

La Albiceleste twice thought they had extended their advantage before the half-hour mark, yet strikes from Messi and Lautaro Martinez were ruled out for offside.

Remarkably, Martinez had another effort chalked off for offside 10 minutes be fore the interval as Scaloni’s side looked to take full ad vantage of Saudi Arabia’s high defensive line.

Saudi Arabia pulled level with their first shot three minutes into the sec ond half, Al Shehri power ing past Cristian Romero and flashing a low shot into Emiliano Martinez’s far corner.

They completed an ex traordinary turnaround just five minutes later when Al Dawsari cut inside from the left and whipped in a superb strike from 18 yards.

Messi had an effort

cleared off the line in the closing stages as Saudi Arabia held on for a famous win against a side 48 plac es above them in the world rankings, despite a lengthy stoppage after Mohammed Al Burayk had taken a knee to the face from his own goalkeeper.

Both sides are in action again on Saturday, with Argentina taking on Mexico and Saudi Arabia facing Poland.

(Sportsmax)

…Sessions to be conducted by Joseph and Gilbert

Coach Linsworth Gilbert would also be conducting the training

Cristiano Ronaldo to

Saudi Arabia stunned Argentina 2-1

Over 400 athletes and officials to vie for supremacy; French Guiana arrived yesterday

Last held in 2017 in Suriname, student athletes in the three Guianas are set to rekindle healthy rivalry from Friday morning when the 2022 edi tion of the always highly anticipated Inter Guiana Games (IGG) is formal ly launched at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence from 19:00hrs on Thursday.

Over 400 athletes from the three nations, both male and female, would be vying for supremacy in Track and Field, Badminton, Cycling (male only), Volleyball, Tennis, Football (fe male only), Table Tennis, Swimming, and Basketball between Friday and Sunday at multiple venues in Regions Three and Four.

Expected to grace this auspicious occasion is Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Honourable Charles Ramson Jr.,

Mohammad, among others.

Suriname’s Minister of Regional Development and Sport, Honourable Ms. Garcia Emmanuel, Director

in the action at the various venues.

Guyana’s DoS, Ninvalle, welcomed the French

“On

to

understanding and solidar ity amongst peoples of the Guianas.”

Head of the French Guiana delegation is Territorial Councillor Mirta Tani, who spoke on arrival, expressing delight at being back for the IGG.

“We haven’t had the IGG in five years, and this is an important championship for the young athletes of the Guianas. So, we welcoming the return and we are hap py to be in Guyana.”

ence in Guyana underlines how important they view the development of mutual

She added that despite having the smallest con tingent of the three partic ipating countries, French Guiana athletes are more than ready to give their all and make their presence felt in basketball and track and field.

Mbappe, Giroud shine as France thrash Australia 4-1

Olivier Giroud net ted twice to become France’s joint re cord scorer as they fought back to put Australia to the sword, opening their World Cup defence with a 4-1 Group D win on Tuesday that silenced talk of a hold ers’ curse.

Australia had taken a stunning lead at Al Janoub Stadium when Craig Goodwin applied a super finish to Mathew Leckie’s cross after nine minutes, but France levelled when Adrien Rabiot headed home and Giroud’s tap-in gave

them the halftime lead.

Kylian Mbappe’s glanc ing header in the 68th minute was followed by Giroud’s 51st internation al goal three minutes lat er, drawing him level with Thierry Henry as France’s all-time top marksman.

Didier Deschamps’ side, who lead the Group D af ter rivals Denmark and Tunisia drew 0-0 earlier on Tuesday, ended a run of poor starts for World Cup holders, after the previous three -- Italy, Spain and Germany -- all failed to win their openers. (Reuters)

Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle, and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Kashif

of Sport Mr. Gordon Tjouw Ngie Touw and other high-ranking officials are also going to be part of the opening, and will also be taking

Guiana contingent to Guyana; they arrived yes terday (Wednesday) after noon.

behalf of the Hon. Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson, I wish to welcome the French Guiana team

our shores. Their pres

IGG 2022 set to be unveiled tomorrow night at Providence Stadium

France dominated Australia 4-1