President Ali reaffirms strong UK friendship in call to Foreign Secretary, David Lammy
- As gov’t rolls out comprehensive electricity plan to boost grid capacity, reduce costs - Jagdeo says
- Ferguson, Jones, Walton-Desir, and Chandon-Edmond among others kicked out of PNC/R executive committee - Newly elected committee announced days after party’s internal elections
- As Gov’t rolls out comprehensive plan to boost grid capacity, reduce electricity costs - Jagdeo says
By Naomi Parris
TO meet increasing electricity demands, the Government of Guyana has established a comprehensive plan to enhance
sion, distribution, and generation capabilities. This investment aims to accommodate the anticipated increase in power supply upon the project’s completion.
“We are upgrading
the pipeline to bring the gas to shore, the construction of the power plant and Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) facility, the installation of transmission lines, the construction of the control
electricity from the current US$0.25/0.36 per kWh to an affordable US$0.06/0.07 per kWh. With all this new power set to come on stream, Jagdeo noted that the government is
the country’s power grid and reduce the cost of electricity.
Highlighting several strategic components of this plan, Peoples Progressive Party General Secretary and Guyana’s Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, on Thursday, at his weekly press conference, disclosed that citizens will see real time monitoring to manage and avoid power outages with the establishment of a state- of -the art control centre.
This constitutes one of the elements of the nation’s eagerly awaited Gas-to-Energy initiative.
Simultaneously, the government plans to allocate nearly $200 million towards the enhancement of transmis-
the whole system, and these would be smart grids. On the line itself, you have a fibre-optic cable that will be connected to the control centre. So, you won’t need to get a report when a blackout takes place anywhere else.
[In] real-time, you can know from the control centre at Eccles…wherever in the country… or on the inter-connected grid, if you have a power outage, you can dispatch people immediately,” Dr. Jagdeo told reporters.
This will particularly target localised faults where there are old transmission lines and transformers.
The gas-to-energy project is divided into five components. These include the laying of
centre and upgrading of the distribution system.
The aim is to provide Guyana with a supply of 300 megawatts of cleaner power at 50 per cent less than the current price
The ambitious project aims to harness natural gas from the Liza Phase One and Two Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, channeling it through a 200km, 12-inch diameter pipeline to a new power plant and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility at Wales.
By providing a more reliable and cost-effective energy source, the initiative could drastically reduce the frequency and duration of power outages while also cutting the cost of
cognisant that it will have to make upgrades to the existing grid.
In the Georgetown area, a contract has al-
ready been awarded to link the power plant in Kingston to a substation at Sophia to boost electricity reliability in that area.
Meanwhile the government is now looking to boost capacity in region 10. Currently the government is subsidising electricity from a private mining company in Linden to provide electricity.
And according to Dr. Jagdeo, this is being done at a high cost, and, to reduce this, the government is examining the establishment of a transmission main from its Garden of Eden power plant on the East Bank of Demerara to Linden and other surrounding areas in the region.
“We are looking at a transmission main now going from maybe the Garden of Eden all the way to Linden. Right now, we are buying power from Bosai at a very expensive rate and we are subsidising it to the community. So, we need to take some of this power up to Linden and once that is built, we will then
build some sub-stations along the highway so that we can distribute. There is going to have a lot housing development along the highway so that we can distribute power there,” Jagdeo explained.
Furthermore, the government will allocate solar units to communities in the hinterland regions of Guyana.
“We are also putting in some solar units around the country -35 megawatts of solar power. We are talking to a company to take our gas to transfer it to power plants in Essequibo, in Bartica, in Lethem that are not connected to the grid, so they too can enjoy power generated.”
“All of this is a part of the plan. We have a comprehensive plan to upgrade transmission and distribution along with the generating capacity. So that is what the control centre will grow into… a modern grid. It’s taking a lot of work but it will get there soon,” Jagdeo added.
FOLLOWING the appointment of David Lammy as the UK’s new Secretary of State for Foreign, Co mmonwealth and Development Affairs, Guyana’s President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, has extended his congratulations and reassurances of continued strong relations between Guyana and the United Kingdom.
In a statement on his official Facebook account, President Ali detailed his conversation with Lammy, who is the son of Guyanese immigrants.
“I had the pleasure of speaking with the UK’s new Foreign Secretary, the Right Honourable David Lammy. I congratulated him and his government and assured him of Guyana’s strong friendship and partnership,” President Ali said.
During the conversation, President Ali addressed critical regional issues, including the recent impact of
Hurricane Beryl and the need for international support in the wake of the disaster.
“I updated him on the impact of Hurricane Beryl on the region and the need for support and collaboration from the international community,” President Ali said.
President Ali also highlighted the importance of the UK’s support for Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, particularly in light of ongoing regional tensions.
“Regarding our sovereignty and territorial integrity, he assured me of the continued support of the United Kingdom,” he added.
The discussion also touched on economic ties and future investments.
President Ali expressed optimism about the potential for increased UK investment in Guyana, facilitated by the UK Export Finance (UKEF) support. “
We also discussed our
bilateral relationship, investments, and the UKEF support for the development of Guyana,” President Ali said.
David Lammy, who has Guyanese heritage, acknowledged the deep connections between the UK and Guyana.
Lammy shared his enthusiasm for his new role on his official ‘X’ account, stating, “It is the honour of my life to be appointed Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. The world faces huge challenges, but we will navigate them with the UK’s enormous strengths. We will reconnect Britain for our security and prosperity at home.”
Lammy’s appointment is expected to bolster the UK’s engagement with Commonwealth nations, leveraging his unique heritage and extensive experience.
Born to Guyanese parents, Lammy has consistently shown support for Guyana, raising pertinent issues in the UK parliament, including the border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela.
At 51, Lammy has a dis-
tinguished career as an English Labour politician and lawyer, having served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenham since 2000
and as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2021. His diverse back -
ground and commitment to international diplomacy position him to strengthen the UK’s global partnerships.
APPROXIMATELY
one week after the conclusion of the internal elections and 22nd Biennial Congress of Guyana’s primary opposition party, the People’s National Congress, it officially released the names of the members elected to the Central Executive Committee.
While there are some familiar faces returning, several wellknown and vocal party members appear to have failed to garner support. Amanza Walton-Desir, Christopher Jones, Geeta Chandan-Edmond, Annette Ferguson, and Roysdale Ford are among several party members who had previously secured spots on the party’s central committee.
The party’s congress had begun last Friday and voting for members was done on Sunday despite several concerns being raised about the election process. In
the wee hours of Monday morning, the party announced the return of Aubrey Norton as leader, and that Shurwayne Holder had secured the spot of Chairperson.
Two vice-chairpersons, namely Elizabeth Williams-Niles and Vinceroy Jordan, were elected, while Elson Low was elected as the new Treasurer.
There was a six-day delay in the declaration of results for members of the central committee.
The Party’s returning officer, Vincent Alexander attributed the delay to having fewer persons involved in the counting process.
In fact, when quizzed about the delay by the local media, Alexander admitted on Friday at a press conference that he did not see the urgency to have additional persons during the tabulation process. However, he noted that the voting and
tabulation process was conducted without any breaches.
He further disclosed that there were some 1300 votes cast during the party’s elections.
The newly-elected members are: Nima Flue-Bess-835 votes; Mervyn Williams -820; Ganesh Mahipaul-810; Coretta McDonald808; Robin Simon-760; Riaz Rupnarain - 750; Anil Sugrim-745; Joan Ann Ramascindo-40;
Sherwood Lowe-726; Troy Garraway-722; Kemel Kissoon- 702; Marcia Gordon-658; Wainwright McIntosh-658; Deron Adams-626, and Jermaine Figueira-527.
Prior to the party’s election, its leader Aubrey Norton had found himself battling a mountain of allegations regarding numerous infractions.
- Ferguson, Jones, Walton-Desir, and Chandon-Edmond among others kicked out of PNC/R executive committee
- Newly-elected committee announced days after party’s internal elections
Just mere days before the opening of the congress last Friday, General Secretary Dawn Hastings-Williams tendered her resignation from her post, while both of Norton’s competitors, Amanza Walton-Desir and Roysdale Forde flagged several concerns which ultimately led their withdrawing from the race for the party’s leadership.
Both Walton-Desir and Forde “suspended” their campaigns on Thursday due to alleged irregularities and lack of transparency surrounding the congress.
In a letter, Forde said that despite several written communications addressed to the Central Executive Committee and the General Secretary regarding concerns about the integrity of the electoral processes for the party’s elections, he did not receive any response.
He went on to say:
“There have been noticeable irregularities concerning the list of delegates, which raise serious concerns about the transparency of the election process.
“Unreasonable timelines have been imposed to meet certain requirements for holding the congress, which have placed undue pressure and constraints on the democratic process.”
Walton-Desir, in her statement, said:
“As of the morning of June 27, 2024, one day before the commencement of our congress, a preliminary list of delegates has not been made available to me, as a candidate, to allow for claims or objections, and further, there is a lack of agreement among all candidates contesting, on the procedures for conducting the elections.”
THE recently released results of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) have brought encouraging news, marking a notable step forward in the academic performance of our young learners. At the heart of these improvements are increases in the pass rates for Mathematics, Social Studies, and English, signalling a positive trend in our education system's efficacy.
During the announcement ceremony, held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Dr. Nicole Manning, Director of Operations at the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) highlighted the most significant achievements.
A particularly pleasing outcome is the increase in the
percentage of pupils earning 50 per cent or more in Mathematics, rising to 40.36 per cent from last year's 39.87 per cent. This figure represents the highest pass rate in Mathematics over the past five years, a commendable milestone for both Guyana and the broader Caribbean region, where Mathematics performance has historically been challenging. Equally noteworthy is the performance in Social Studies, with 62.88 per cent of the children scoring over 50 per cent, a substantial improvement from previous years. The pass rate for English also saw an impressive rise to 66.79 per cent, the highest recorded in the last five years. These gains are a testament to the focussed efforts of educators and the
strategic initiatives implemented by the Ministry of Education.
Education Minister Priya Manickchand acknowledged these achievements, while emphasising the need for sustained and consistent improvements. She pointed out that while any positive movement is welcome, there remains much work to be done to ensure that the teaching-learning process is continually enhanced and supported by adequate resources. The Minister stressed the importance of training and retraining teachers, providing necessary materials like textbooks, and ensuring effective supervision to maintain the momentum of progress.
A notable aspect of this year's assessment is the
slight reduction in the number of pupils receiving zero in Mathematics, a positive indicator of a broader uplift in foundational skills. Additionally, this year's introduction of a Spanish cohort, with several candidates taking their exams in Spanish, reflects the expanding linguistic diversity and inclusivity in our education system.
However, the results also revealed areas needing attention. The pass rate for Science saw a marginal decrease from 55.11 per cent to 54 per cent, reminding us that continuous efforts are required to balance achievements across all subjects.
Minister Manickchand announced an upcoming comprehensive Mathematics intervention aimed at further improving results. Starting
in September, this initiative will primarily target secondary education, but will also incorporate foundational efforts at the primary level, ensuring a holistic approach to enhancing mathematical competence from an early age.
As 15,285 candidates from across Guyana sat the NGSA exams this year, the highest possible total score stood at 504.24, with the top one per cent of pupils securing places at prestigious institutions like Queen’s College. This year’s cut-off scores for various schools have been published, with Queen’s College leading at 495.45.
The upward trends in Mathematics, Social Studies, and English are a cause for celebration, and reflect the
effectiveness of recent educational reforms. However, they also underscore the need for continuous investment in education, vigilant monitoring of teaching effectiveness, and consistent support for both pupils and teachers.
While the journey towards educational excellence is ongoing, these incremental improvements at the NGSA are a promising indicator of the potential for sustained progress in Guyana's education system. With continued dedication and strategic interventions, there is hope for even greater achievements in the future, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to excel and contribute meaningfully to the nation's development.
Dear Editor, HE will not sin his soul, neither will his conscience be sold to no one old or young. Lo and behold, he will not be compromised, not by gold or by anyone from any fold. Often, the cold story does not hold by those barefaced, brazen and bold, because, the entire truth is not being told.
As President of Guyana, the rule of law will mold Dr. Irfaan Ali’s commitment not to compromise his self-respect. Unlike others, he does not refuse to shake hands. Then again, he was never in a situation where he had to choose between his unmistakable loyalty to any principal or his unswerving loyalty to his principle, people and party. Coming from Leonora Sugar Estate, President Ali knows that you cannot blow whistle and suck cane at the same time.
Gold has been in the news even before the days of exploration and trading began. Gold was once used primarily as the commodity to back the dollar in a country but not necessarily so now. It is still sought after and the United States has some 8,100 tonnes of the commodity in reserve, more than Germany, Italy and France put together, worth
some $190 billion and stored in Fort Knox. The popular James Bond movies “Goldfinger”, and “The Man with the Golden Gun” come to mind. Guyana’s gold reserves as at 2022 was US$35 Billion.
While “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and women’s best friend is diamonds, man’s best friend is a dog. James Bond also starred in “Diamonds Are Forever” but the sparkle of that stone does not outshine the demand for gold. A number of Guyanese have recently been sanctioned by the US Government, allegedly involved in the illegal export of gold to the United States and tax evasion from the Guyana Government. This is nothing new and for ages, much of Guyana’s gold has been shipped out without the country receiving royalty or taxes.
The Guyana Gold Board has reported that gold production declared has been reducing for the past years. The Ministry of Finance declared that there has been a constant decline since 2017. A contributing factor was blamed on low declarations made by small and medium scale miners. During the Budget 2024 presentation, Finance Minister Ashni Singh stated that, 2023
gold production fell to 432,113 ounces, a 11.2 per cent contraction in the gold mining industry.
Minister Singh also noted that diamond declarations were estimated to have fallen by 19.3 per cent to 67,444 metric carats in 2023.
While many decorate their eyelid, nose, lip, ears, necks and fingers with golden ornaments, the ankles are also not left out. The display of this magnate is lucrative business for choke and robbers. The pawn shops have always been an integral part of society for quick financial relief. Gold is also hoarded and stored in different hiding places and attract thieves and burglars. Many have lost their lives and others traumatised or seriously injured during such daring escapades. Aiming for gold has always been the sole criteria to motivate anyone, not only for the Olympics, but also for any athlete participating in any game and honoring the rules and regulations of sportsmanship. While the US has won most gold medals, Guyana has never won any. Guyana’s first Olympics medalist was Michael Anthony (Parris) when he won a bronze medal at the 1980 Olympics held in Mosco, in the men’s bantamweight.
In the golden days of the oldies, cinema fans were treated to a number of gold heist movies including One-Eyed Jacks (1961), Goldfinger (1964), The Wrecking-Crew (1968), When Eight Bells Toll (1971) and The Train Robbers (1973). Of course, Ocean’s 11, although money and not gold was stolen, remains an all-time favorite in the same vein, the best being the original with George Clooney.
Gold is weighed for its financial worth, worn for its sentimental and religious values and has always been a source of wealth and power, the 24 carats being the highest and purest form of the metal. China is the largest buyer and consumer of gold with 1,948 tons reserve and in 6th place. India, placing 9th with its gold reserve of 658 tones, is the second largest consumer of gold in the world for all her various personal, cultural and traditional usages.
This precious metal also has the potential to having destructive and exploitive behaviour. In real life, the biggest gold heist has been the Brink’s Mat robbery in 1983 when 6 men posing as policemen robbed the security company and escaped with 3 tons of gold bullion, diamonds
and currency worth 26 million pounds sterling (today’s worth of over 155 million). Four of the six robbers were never caught and the majority of the stolen gold was never recovered.
The Nazi Regime, led by Adolf Hitler during 1939 to 1945, was also involved in raiding and relieving other countries (Belgium and Netherlands), governments, companies and people of o ver 1,000 tons of gold worth $550 million (over 53 billion pounds 2024). India, once known as “The Jewel of the Crown,” has lost over $45 Trillion, due to Britain draining her Treasury and wealth from tax, trade and treasures during the period 1765-1938, according to renowned economist Utsa Patnaik. India wants to wage a diplomatic campaign to reclaim thousands of treasures, including the famous Koh-I-Noor diamond. Many plunderers rushed to the shore of this country, then British Guiana, in search of the golden city of El Dorado, including Sir Walter Raleigh. In Guyana, gold is disguised and worn as silver in order to ship it overseas. Many were caught at the Cheddi Jagan airport in this scheme. Even at the police station, gold is switched for other
metal when being returned. One Guyanese was relieved of 208 ounces of raw gold worth over $74 million during 2022-2023. Gold made many rich in Guyana, especially after the horrible Jonestown massacre. During the reign of Burnham as President in December 1978, the PNC Government was accused of having links to the Cool Aid Cult, led by Jim Jones, who master minded the largest mass suicide in history, killing 913 people and 5 murdered, including 300 under the age of 17, US Congressman Leo Ryan and also 8 Guyanese. Speculation arose when Dr. Ptolemy Reid, then Deputy Prime Minister and Viola Burnham, the President’s wife, uplifted and brought out over US$1 million in gold, jewelry and currency to government headquarters in Georgetown. Burnham wanted to have husk and corn but he had the reverse effect of the golden touch of Midas. On the contrary, President Ali is adorned with the Midas touch while the PNC is looking for what they cannot find, perhaps El Dorado, the City of Gold. Yours respectively, Jai Lall
Dear Editor, LEADING up to the AFC’s congress, I posted a brief reminder on my Facebook page of the history of conflicts of interest that the AFC leader, Mr. Nigel Hughes, was embroiled in, in the notso-distant past. Subsequent to that post, he disclosed publicly that ExxonMobil is a client of his firm, perhaps thinking that such disclosure would have sufficed. This was just before he was elected as the party’s leader. Readers would recall that following this disclosure, I wrote a letter to the media highlighting some of the implications of the “conflict of interest” between him and ExxonMobil. (Here is a link to the referenced letter https://guyanachronicle.com/2024/06/30/nigelhughes-and-conflicts-of-interest/).
At the Vice-President’s press conference held on July 4, 2024, some appalling revelations surfaced on this subject, which I don’t need to regurgitate wholesale here, but would like to expand on the implications thereof, and emphasize a few notable unanswered questions to date. In this regard, Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo did an excellent job at “connecting the dots” where he compellingly demonstrated that the relationship between ExxonMobil and Nigel Hughes extends far beyond the traditional client-firm relationship.
As was confirmed by the Vice-President, Mr. Hughes misled the public about his resignation from the AFC in 2016. The reasons given were vague, as was reported by the local media, that his tenure as
Chairman of the AFC did not overlap with that of former Minister and AFC Executive, Mr. Raphael Trotman, when the oil contract was negotiated. But according to the Vice- President, Exxon’s own documents showed that the negotiation of the contract commenced in May 2015, and was signed on the 27th day of June, 2016. Reportedly, Mr. Hughes resigned from the AFC in April 2016.
Indeed, the Vice-President made a valid observation. Obviously, the contract negotiation period would have lasted for some time before it was finalised and signed by the parties in 2016. In this regard, according to the “Global Witness Report”, the following are questions that remained unanswered by Mr. Nigel Hughes and former AFC Minister Raphael Trotman, on whether: (i) there was a conflict of interest at that time between him (former Minister Trotman), Mr. Hughes, and ExxonMobil in relation to the negotiation; and (ii) whether Mr. Hughes was part of that negotiation as Exxon’s Attorney.
In light of the aforementioned, coupled with this new development whereby Mr. Hughes is now the AFC’s leader and has signaled his interest to contest the next general and regional elections for the Presidential Office; the Vice President stated that this may necessitate a formal investigation into these issues of conflicts of interest involving ExxonMobil and Mr. Nigel Hughes. In my view, this may very well be warranted for the reasons stated hereunder.
At the time of writing, the conflicted AFC leader offered a preliminary response to the
Vice President, stating that he welcomes any investigation into his relationship with ExxonMobil.
In his apparent defense, he goes onto to state that his law firm has a complex structure, that there are multiple partners, that he was never personally responsible for ExxonMobil’s portfolio (meaning that he never did any work for Exxon), and that different clients are managed by different partners. In other words, the AFC leader tried to explain that his firm is structured in a way to “ring-fence” client relationships, which is a methodology commonly utilized by large professional services firm to manage “conflicts of interest” internally. But here’s an interesting observation; it would appear that in his haste to nervously respond to the Vice President, Mr. Hughes may have inadvertently implicated himself—suggesting that he’s being disingenuous.
Now, if he is saying that he is not the partner with responsibility for ExxonMobil, that he has never done any work for ExxonMobil, then his latest statement is a total contradiction of his first statement, where he said publicly that ExxonMobil is a client of his firm and he cannot comment on any oil and gas policy for the AFC, the party he leads. Further, he went onto state that if there is a dispute between Guyana and his client, ExxonMobil, he will be representing Exxon’s interest, although he would be the Presidential candidate of a political party in Guyana. If that’s the case, then why did he gag himself from speaking on the oil and gas sector? Why didn’t he provide this explanation in the
first place? Clearly, his failure to do so, has now led him into becoming a victim of the deadly, bone crushing wrap by an anaconda, proverbially.
Notwithstanding the explanation provided by Mr. Hughes about the structure of his firm, and ring fencing of clients, that is totally unapplicable since he remains an active managing partner/part owner of the firm.
I shudder to think what the explanation for this marvelous contradiction might be, which essentially exposed the profound, indisputable presence of dishonesty that has characterized this peculiar case of conflict of interest herein, on the part of the AFC Leader.
ExxonMobil Guyana (EMGL) is bound by its internal anti-corruption policy pursuant to the US “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” (FCPA); whereunder, EMGL is prohibited from conducting business with foreign/ government officials, which is equally applied to candidates of political parties. According to the FCPA, the basic prohibitions also apply to any non-US political party, party official, or candidate for political office.
With respect to the political activities policy, in the
United States, ExxonMobil is “authorized to make lawful political contributions to political parties, political associations, candidate committees, and other political organizations, provided that such contributions are approved by the Chairman of the Corporation or his designees…” As regards other nations, the policy states that “the Corporation refrains from making political contributions in any nation other than the United States”. Of note, in accordance with the US laws, the Corporation is legally required to publish its corporate political contributions. (See link here for ease of reference https://corporate. exxonmobil.com/who-we-are/ policy/political-contributions/ corporate-political-contributions).
Should EMGL fail to take any action to mitigate the foregoing risks, it is likely to be in violation of two of its major internal anti-corruption policies in accordance with US laws. Moreover, it can be argued that presumably, EMGL is meddling in Guyana’s domestic politics, viz-à-viz, funding of a political candidate through a pretextual retainership with the political candidate’s firm. This is contrary to the practice as per US laws in the United States where political contributions are required to be publicly disclosed, thus a lack of transparency in this case.
Therefore, in my duly considered professional view, EMGL has found itself in a perplexing dilemma, such that EMGL may have no other alternative, but to terminate the contract with the law firm in question. Otherwise, the Guyanese people will be well placed to reasonably question whether EMGL is orchestrating a covert political project in Guyana.
Yours sincerely, Joel Bhagwandin
Considering that Mr. Nigel Hughes is now a duly elected Presidential candidate of a political party in Guyana, if EMGL fails to terminate the contract with his firm, then EMGL is likely to be in violation of its own anti-corruption policy, and by extension the FCPA. Additionally, in respect of the political activities policy, it is stated unambiguously that political contributions are prohibited to nations other than the United States.
THE people of the UK have spoken. What issues have they voted on? It is impossible to determine under Proportional Representation what people vote for. No scientific method has ever been invented to determine which issues people chose to vote on in Proportional Representation. You simply cannot do that because in any election there are multi-dimensional issues.
Here are some hypothetical examples. The government refuses to subsidise a cricket hero. The government rejects putting money to plant trees along the city parapets. The government votes to deny a banning on animal hunting. The government refuses to vote for the condemnation of genocide at the UN.
An election is held and the ruling party loses. On what issues it lost? For me, I would like to see the cricket hero gets his financial subsidy. But that would not be the reason I would
be against the ruling party. I would be against a ruling party if it supports animal hunting and frowns on denouncing genocide. But there could have been a substantial number of voters who are not animal lovers and don’t care about genocide occurring thousands of miles away from their homeland, but wanted the cricketer to get his money. So you just cannot ascertain which vexation was the determining factor when the ballot was cast.
Under the First Past the Post system or what is also known as the constituency system, you can roughly gauge the reasons people voted. In the recent UK elections, constituency results showed that the Israeli committal of genocide was a decisive factor.
It is a factor that will cause Biden to lose. What the committal of genocide against the Palestinian people has shown to the Global South is how Western
leaders who have been preaching day in and day out to Third World people, since independence on how democratic they should be are not democratic themselves.
The peoples of the USA and the European Union did not and do not support what Israel has done and is doing in Gaza. The pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been relentless and colossal in the countries whose leaders continue to give unconditional support to Israel. These countries have gone so far to undermine international peace and security by refusing to accept an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for Netanyahu.
What the genocide has shown the world is that leaders in the West who sermonize the people of the Global South about listening to the citizenry and giving the citizens what they want do not practise what they preach. The genocide in Gaza
WE have our own Caribbean way of treating emergencies, mainly sceptical about weather warnings, yet always surprised when we get hit hard and just ‘feeling sorry’ for others when we escape unaffected.
So that, while governments may take early steps to ensure sufficient levels of emergency preparedness, there’s also always a higher level of lower expectations than should have been expected.
We knew Beryl was coming a ‘a BIG ONE’ but when it razed coastal areas and broke jetties across the islands hit, everyone was ‘surprised’ and/or ‘never expected’ it to be ‘like that...’
We’ve seen and heard what Beryl did to the Caribbean and the task now is to not only start taking hurricane warnings more seriously, but also to understand how and why she came so-big and so-early in the 2024 Hurricane season.
We have to pay more attention to the issues relating to Climate Change and the Environment and not just cling to phrases like ‘1.5 To Stay Alive’, without even understanding 1.5 of what, or how it will happen.
What we are facing already
– and not only now – is the accumulated effects of Climate Change caused by rich countries clouding the skies with bad gases that scar Planet Earth and enrage Mother Nature.
They clear the world’s forests to dig for oil, gold, and diamonds, and other rare earths, not caring about the ultimate effects.
Their actions make the sea warmer, resulting in everything from Flying Fish flying from Barbados to Tobago waters, rising sea levels in our Caribbean harbours and more frequent natural and human-made disasters.
Today, all the worst elements exist alongside each other: Rain and drought, heat waves and worsening winters, every month being hotter than the previous one, every year seeing more ‘tropical’ storms and hurricanes, earthquakes and volcano eruptions, floods and forest fires – even a ‘Christmas Eve Trough’ that severely hit an off-guard Saint Lucia on December 24, 2013.
However, believe it or not, like science, Climate Change is real—and it’s affecting us in real ways—and we really need to start learning more about it.
has also shown the world how priceless the value of free and fair elections is.
The Labour Party was always projected to win, but Labour Party had within its bosom candidates that supported Israel. In the election last Thursday, voters rejected Labour politicians who supported the Holocaust in Gaza committed by the Israeli army and government. Here is the list.
George Galloway. Fiercely pro-Palestinian, he won as an independent in a by-election a few months ago (he lost this time around).
Jeremy Corbin, former Labour leader, expelled for his stance on Israel, ran against Labour as an independent and won.
Jonathan Ashworth, Labour MP, lost to a pro-Palestinian independent, candidate, Shockat Adams.
Kate Hollern (Labour) lost to an independent pro-Palestinian candidate, Adnan Hussain.
Rachel Revees, former Labour shadow chancellor, lost to Iqbal Mohammed by 7000 votes.
Kalid Mahmood lost to one of the most pro-Palestinian politicians in the election, Ayoub Khan, who ran as an independent candidate. He beat the Mahmood from Labour by 15, 000 votes.
West Streeting, from Labour, and the most popular candidate in his constituency, barely won against a pro-Palestinian candidate. He won by 500 votes to a young, 23-year-old Palestinian girl.
Liz Truss, former Conservative Prime Minister and unapologetic supporter of Israel, lost her seat.
Here are the words of a former adviser to former Labour Prime Minister, Tony Blair: “Labour need to take the votes lost over Gaza as seriously as we took the loss of red wall.” This is going to be the pattern for the
November elections in the US. Millions of young people will not vote for Biden over Gaza. The volcanic demonstrations of the nine months will cause them to abstain rather than vote for Biden.
The Labour victory last Thursday has crucial importance for understanding the hypocrisy of Western countries. Even though the people took to the streets protesting genocidal acts over the past nine months, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did not dilute the pro-Israel policy of the British Government. So we end with the question: – in Western democracies, do leaders listen to the people.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.
The rich countries go to the annual United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference of Parties (CoP) in The North and pledge to help pay and repair the loss and damage they have long been causing to The South, but every year they fail to deliver and come up with new schemes, among the latest being so-called ‘Monetization of Climate Change’ championed by former US Secretary of State, John Kerry.
They pretend to be concerned, while refusing to pay-up to repair the global damage they cause in developing nations and small island developing states.
The rich nations are doing what we will consider strange things, to look and sound good, but refuse to take action to do good for those nations their bad decisions and gas emissions damage beyond repair -- like what Beryl just did.
Take Norway, for example, which two weeks ago became the first country to pass a Carbon Tax on cows.
The scientists have found that a cow’s burp – just one ‘fart’ or ‘a fat’ – lets out enough emissions to harm the climate, so Denmark
passed a tax of almost US $100 (EC $271) for each cow owned by every cattle farmer.
The tax is based on a mathematical measurement of how many times a cow farts per day and how much that contributes to negative climate change every week, month and year.
Back in time, we used to (and we still do) collect precious ‘Cow Poop’ (cattle dung) to use as manure for planting fruits and vegetables – and it came from the same passage as the cow’s fart.
I can’t remember ever hearing how a cow farts, far-less how it smells, or to have even believed it can change the climate.
But today, tropical countries are being forced to consider which part of a cow’s daily waste is good and which is bad – and maybe soon too, Caribbean cattle farmers may have to be charged a ‘Fart Tax’ according to future World Health and Climate Resilience rules (Coming to pasture near you soon?)
We’ve seen it all before… Hurricane Janet lasted nine
days (September 21 to 30, 1955) and caused havoc across the Caribbean as the most-powerful tropical cyclone of the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, as the first named storm in history to cause 1,000 deaths -- and the first Category 5 storm’s name to be retired (never to be used again).
Hurricane David in 1979 lasted longer – an entire fortnight, from August 25 to September 8, 1979; Hurricane Allen lasted 12 days from July 31 to August 11, 1980; and Hurricane Gilbert lasted 12 days from September 8 to 19, 1988.
Since then, the 21st Century has seen hurricanes and storms like Maria come faster and more furious, accompanied by volcanic eruptions in St. Vincent & The Grenadines, long droughts, rising sea levels and other worsening phenomena.
Caribbean Governments must therefore try hard to avoid the region’s climate perils being treated like providing field trips to collect
data for geographic, oceanic and meteorological scientists to factor into their never-ending calculations of the accumulated effects of environmental and humanoid activity on how fast the climate changes.
Likewise, loss and damage from Climate Change is no different than the huge debts Europe and North America owe the Caribbean for Reparations for Slavery and Native Genocide.
In my view, the time has come for twinning these demands that both affect all developing nations still fighting the lingering effects of slavery and colonialism in the 21st century.
Like CARICOM is already proposing the internationalisation of its legal case for Reparations, the region can also file cases for Climate Change-related losses and damages at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), European Court of Justice and the US Supreme Court. I rest my case…
By Faith Greene
THE Ministry of Health in Guyana has launched the 2024 National Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Campaign, Mass Drug Administration (MDA), in collabora -
over 120 million people worldwide, including regions in Asia, Africa, the Western Pacific, the Caribbean, and South America.
To ensure the success of this campaign, approximately 700 pill distrib-
ple t-shirts, featuring the logos of the Ministry of Health and PAHO/WHO.
tion with the Pan American Health Organisation and World Health Organisation (PAHO/ WHO).
The initiative aims to eliminate filaria, a debilitating disease affecting
utors have been trained and will begin distributing medication across the country starting today, focusing initially on Regions Three and Four. These distributors can be identified by their pur-
Dr. Annastacia Sampson, National Filaria Coordinator from the Vector Control Services of the Ministry of Health, explained the nature of filaria and its transmission. The disease is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito and can affect individuals of all ages in endemic areas. While filaria may be contracted in child -
hood, its visible symptoms—swelling of the arms, legs, breast, and scrotum—often appear later in life, leading to permanent disability.
The Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF), launched in 2000, employs two main strategies, one of which is the MDA. This approach involves administering preventative filaria pills to all eligible individuals in affected areas to halt the disease's transmission.
Guyana's efforts to combat filaria began in 2001 with a schoolbased mapping survey across its 10 administrative regions. The results indicated that Regions Seven, Eight, and Nine were partially endemic, while Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, and 10 were fully endemic. Region One was the only non-endemic area. In 2019, the Ministry of Health introduced a new triple drug therapy— comprising Ivermectin, Diethylcarbamazine, and Albendazole (IDA)— during an MDA in eight of the ten regions.
Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, highlighted the long-standing battle against filaria in Guyana, emphasising the societal challenges faced by those affected. He noted that, in the past, many people suffered from "big-foot," a colloquial term for the severe
However, the minister proudly stated that thanks to previous campaigns and sensitisation efforts, the incidence of filaria in Guyana has significantly decreased. He encouraged everyone to participate in the current MDA campaign to ensure the contin -
swelling caused by the disease, due to a lack of treatment and awareness.
ued decline and eventual eradication of this life-altering disease.
FOURTEEN small business owners were the recipients of financial compensation on Friday, under the Adequate Housing and Urban Accessibility Programme (AHUAP)—specifically through its Livelihood Restoration Plan. These individuals, recognised as Project Affected Persons (PAPs), faced financial setbacks due to ongoing infrastructure developments in their community.
The disbursement ceremony, held at the Ministry’s Brickdam Headquarters, saw a total payout
of approximately $2.5 million to these business owners.
The event was attended by key government officials including Housing and Water Minister, Collin Croal, Minister within the Ministry, Susan Rodrigues, Permanent Secretary, Mr. Bishram Kuppen, and Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority, Mr. Sherwyn Greaves.
Minister Rodrigues expressed her satisfaction with this phase of the AHUAP, emphasising its critical role in supporting the affected business community amidst ongoing infrastructure upgrades. She highlighted the programme’s commitment to addressing the needs of vulnerable groups and ensuring that all components, including livelihood restoration, receive due attention alongside broader development efforts.
Minister Croal echoed those sentiments, urging the beneficiaries to maximise their compensation and leverage the upcoming training opportunities. The 14 business owners will receive training in Entrepreneurial Awareness, Financial Management and Record
Keeping, Small Business Development, Taxation, and Business Regularisation, facilitated by the Small Business Bureau and the Guyana Revenue Authority.
"While the financial compensation will provide immediate relief, the training will empower you to sustain and grow your businesses effectively," Minister Croal emphasised during the ceremony.
The disbursement event also highlighted the government's broader investment in the West Bank Demerara area, totalling $3 billion under the AHUAP. This investment includes critical upgrades to community roads and drainage systems, aimed at enhancing living conditions and infrastructure resilience in the region.
The Livelihood Restoration Plan, operating under Component 1.2 of the AHUAP, aims to ensure that individuals economically displaced by programme activities have their socio-economic conditions restored or improved. The plan underscores principles of transparency, consistency, and equity in its implementation, ensuring fair treatment for all affected parties.
PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali is set to deliver the keynote address at the Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) 2024, which will be held from July 1012 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre in Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara.
His speech, titled “Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges: President Irfaan Ali’s Vision for a
Transformed Caribbean,” aims to engage business leaders and investors from the Caribbean, Latin America, the United States, Europe, and beyond.
The event will also feature Dr. Peter Ramsaroop, Guyana’s Chief Investment Officer and Agency Head of the Guyana Office for Investment. Dr. Ramsaroop is slated to open the third day of the forum with a
presentation on "Guyana Investment Landscape for 2030 and Beyond."
Organised by the Caribbean Investment Agency, CIF is recognised as the region’s premier gathering for business leaders and investors. Government officials and business leaders from across the region and the wider world will attend, with discussions focusing on the digitisation
of business, sustainable development, sustainable agriculture, and the transition to a green economy.
The primary objectives of the forum are to attract targeted investment into these priority sectors and to facilitate interactions between investors and businesses, fostering a greener, smarter economy.
The event will feature a leadership roundtable,
a ministerial roundtable, and an investment village, offering unparalleled opportunities for business leaders and investors to network and explore investment opportunities in sustainable agriculture, technology and innovation, and the green economy in the Caribbean.
Dr. Ramsaroop emphasised the significance of local participation, stating, “This forum is a unique op-
portunity for our local business leaders and investors to engage with their regional and global counterparts. It is a platform to not only showcase what Guyana has to offer but also to learn and expand their operations through strategic partnerships.”
Registration for the event can be completed at www.caribbeaninvestmentforum.com.
THE National Stadium is buzzing with activity as preparations ramp up for the International Building Expo 2024, set to take place from August 8-11.
On Friday afternoon, Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, conducted a walkthrough of the venue, expressing satisfaction with the progress.
Minister Croal announced that 85 per cent of the booths have already been booked, with participation from new companies. This year’s event will host businesses from neighbouring countries like Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname, as well
as from distant markets such as India, the USA, and Italy. A total of 341 spots have been made available for exhibitors.
“I’m happy with the progress we’re making. Of course, we want to encourage large sponsors and corporate companies to come on board—there are still opportunities,” stated Minister Croal.
He emphasised that the Expo is not limited to construction companies but extends to various service providers in the sector. It serves as a platform for networking and building collaborations, with many companies having successfully launched new products at last year's
Expo.
This year, the Ministry will also, once again, host its 'Dream Realised' Housing Drive, commencing with a title distribution for new housing areas after the opening ceremony. On the second day, the master plan for Silica City is expected to be unveiled. The Housing Drive will continue with land allocation exercises for Regions Three and Four on the second and third days, concluding with entertainment on the final day.
Register now at buildingexpo.gy/register or contact: +592635-1103 || +592-6351104 || +592-714-1104 || +592-714-2460.
-
AL and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC., MP met with Madam Justice Louise Esther Blenman, Chief Justice of Belize, on Friday, to discuss updates on several legal projects during a courtesy call.
Justice Blenman is set to deliver the feature address at the upcoming ‘First Legal Conference on Criminal Justice Reform - Advancing the Needham’s Point Declaration,’ scheduled for July 10-11 at the Guyana Marriott Hotel.
The conference will gather notable figures such as the Commonwealth Secretary General, Rt. Hon. Patricia Scotland KC, judges from the Caribbean Court of Justice, and other regional legal dignitaries.
Justice Blenman, who is known as a legal trailblazer is the first woman to be appointed Chief Justice of Belize and has a distinguished legal career spanning multiple countries.
“Justice Blenman is Guyanese by birth. Her legal career began in Guyana
where she served in various capacities including, Acting Deputy Solicitor General in the Attorney General’s Chambers, acting Magistrate and a Lecturer in law at the University of Guyana.
“In September 2000, Justice Blenman was appointed as the Solicitor General of Saint Lucia – a post she held until she was elevated to the bench of the High Court of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in 2003. Justice Blenman was appointed a Justice of Appeal in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in 2012 and served in that capacity for ten years.
In September, 2022, Justice Blenman was appointed Chief Justice of Belize,” a release from the AG’s chambers said.
During their meeting on Friday, Attorney General Nandlall provided an overview of significant initiatives undertaken by his office.
He also presented Justice Blenman with a set of the Guyana Law Reports (19772007), a Consolidated Index of Statutes and Subsidiary Legislation of Guyana, and an Index of the Guyana Law
Reports (1930-2007).
The Conference will cover several topics, including but not limited to, eliminat-
ing case backlog, Criminal Procedure Rules, plea bargaining, Children’s Court experience, role and impact
of Public Defender’s Office, Judge alone trials, dealing with DNA evidence in Court, Restorative Justice, the art
of fact finding, sentencing guidelines and paper committals.
In this regard, the focus will be on enhancing continuous legal education in an effort to keep abreast with the transformative changes in the legal framework through shared knowledge and collaborative efforts which will serve well to equip all stakeholders in the Criminal Justice System to effectively implement and interpret new laws.
A distinguished group of presenters and panellists have been identified for this event and, also, among the impressive list of invitees are Attorneys General from the Caribbean, Heads of Judiciaries, Judges, Directors of Public Prosecution, legal experts, law professors, policymakers, criminal defence attorneys, advocates, members of law enforcement, law students and members of civil society, all from across the region coming together for a comprehensive discussion aimed at advancing the Needham’s Point Declaration.
THE Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) recently held a Seminar on Compliance for Licensing and the Code of Practice for Woodworking Facilities (Lumberyards and Sawmills) at the Multiplex Facility in Kingston, Georgetown. This initiative, facilitated by the Ministry of Natural Resources, aims to promote value addition and improve the quality of lumber produced by these facilities.
The seminar brought together Forest Sector Operators (FSOs), including sawmillers and lumberyard owners, who play a crucial role in the forest sector and the forest value chain. This segment is where primary value addition begins, before moving to further value-adding processes such as furniture making, woodworking, doors, flooring, decking, and prefabricated houses. The Ministry emphasised the importance of a steady supply of raw materials for value addition and secondary processing.
At the International Energy Conference and Expo last year, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, highlighted Guyana's sustainable approach to energy sector development. He stressed that the key to maintaining a viable forestry sector while keeping deforestation rates low is through the production of value-added products. Bharrat noted the government’s efforts to create job opportunities for Guyanese and provide avenues for the private sector to offer goods and services.
Guyana employs several sustainable forestry practices to
maintain the quality of its forests, as outlined in the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). These practices include exemplary codes of practice for timber harvesting, reduced-impact logging techniques, strong forest governance and legality practices, and meticulous pre- and post-harvesting planning. The forestry sector not only drives the economy but also demonstrates Guyana’s commitment to sustainable management. In 2023, the GFC reported that Guyana produced approximately 446,000 cubic meters of timber products, sufficient to build more than 20,000 homes based on United States standards. Timber exports are expected to rise to US$31.4 million this year, marking a significant increase
of approximately 53% (US$10.9 million).
Additionally, the forestry sector generated a gross domestic product (GDP) of approximately US$86.32 million in 2023. With an anticipated growth of 3.9% this year, the sector’s GDP is projected to increase to around US$89.68 million, driven by sustainable practices and increased timber production.
While the forestry sector is vital for Guyana’s growing economy, the country’s forests also play a crucial role in the global fight against climate change. The seminar underscores the importance of sustainable practices and quality improvement in ensuring the longterm viability and success of Guyana’s forestry sector.
THE Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) has conceded to start salary negotiations from 2024 onwards, thereby concluding the conciliation
sought retroactive salary adjustments for the period between 2019 and 2023.
However, fiscal constraints led the govern -
about the ruling’s implications for future labour relations, describing it as being “bad in law”.
The matter is currently before the Court of
process initiated by the Ministry of Education.
This decision marks a turn of events in the ongoing dialogue between the GTU and the government over teachers’ wages and working conditions.
“The conciliation process has ended with the parties agreeing that the multi-year agreement will address a period commencing from 2024 and onwards. The bilateral talks will now begin on the multi-year agreement,” the Education Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
However, the Ministry said that they continue to serve teachers in various ways, and continue to have the “best interest of teachers at heart”.
The background to this concession is a prolonged negotiation process, which began after teachers initiated a strike on February 5.
The strike was aimed at securing wage increases and other benefits.
Initially, the GTU
ment to propose focusing on future salary agreements, starting from 2024.
An agreement was reached last month between the GTU and the government to initiate negotiations for a multiyear agreement.
Despite this, the GTU had initially insisted on addressing past salaries, leading to an impasse.
The Ministry of Education had clarified that retroactive payments were not feasible within the 2024 budget, prompting the union to eventually agree to the proposed timeline.
This development follows a contentious legal battle, where the State sought to overturn a ruling by Justice Sandil Kissoon, which had legitimised the teachers’ strike.
The ruling was based on the assertion that the Ministry had not properly undertaken collective bargaining with the GTU.
The State expressed significant concerns
Appeal.
Throughout the negotiations, the government reiterated its commitment to improving the education sector.
Investments in policies and programmes are ongoing, aimed at enhancing educational opportunities and supporting teachers’ welfare.
President Dr. Irfaan Ali recently underscored the administration’s focus on prioritising the needs of teachers, students, and parents.
With the GTU’s concession to start salary negotiations from 2024, both the union and the Ministry of Education are now poised to embark on bilateral talks aimed at securing a multi-year agreement.
This agreement is anticipated to establish a foundation for a more stable and collaborative relationship, ultimately advantageous for both the nation’s educators and the wider educational sector.
AT the University of Guyana (UG), dedicated staff and students are making significant strides in research across various fields, addressing some of society's most pressing issues such as food security and environmental management.
Today, we spotlight Ms. Samantha Forrester, an aquaculturist whose remarkable work in safeguarding fish health and promoting sustainable rearing practices has garnered attention and acclaim.
Ms. Forrester has been a lecturer and researcher with UG’s Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry for over nine years. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Guyana and a Master of Science in Fisheries Science from Nanjing Agricultural University in China, the world's leading fish producer.
“With support from UG, I was selected for the MOFCOM Scholarship, and the University of Guyana granted me study leave to bolster my research," she explained.
Driven by the adage, ‘we are what we eat,’ Ms. Forrester embarked on a mission to protect fish health and their immune systems.
“Over the years, the demand for meat products, particularly fish, has increased as people become more health-conscious about their diets,” she noted.
This shift inspired Ms. Forrester to explore the commercial cultivation of fish in ponds and tanks. Her research revealed that rearing large numbers of fish in confined spaces increases their vulnerability to stressors, including bacterial pathogens.
Ms Samantha Forrester, Lecturer and Researcher at the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Guyana
"Aeromonas hydrophila is a bacterial pathogen that severely affects the aquaculture industry globally, causing massive economic losses due to high mortality rates in infected fish. To combat these bacterial diseases, several veterinary drugs are used, but many contain harmful chemical compounds that pollute the aquatic environment and accumulate in fish tissue,” Ms. Forrester explained.
In response, Ms. Forrester investigated a local medicinal herb as an alternative to antibiotics, known for its medicinal properties. “I conducted an in-vitro study to determine the antibacterial properties of herbs effective in treating Aeromonas hydrophila,” she proudly reflected.
After observing positive results from the herbs, Ms. Forrester formulated a basal diet for daily fish feeding. Using crucian carp for her study, she tested five groups, each containing twenty fish chosen at random. One group received only the basal diet as the control, while the other four groups were given the basal diet with herb
extract added at varying potencies over eight weeks.
She further explained that, after eight weeks, a subset of fish from each group was exposed to a known concentration of the bacterium. Further observations, testing, and statistical analysis led to conclusive results, revealing that the herb extract enhanced the fish's physiological and immune functions and improved resistance against pathogenic infections in crucian carp.
Ms. Forrester’s research suggests that natural immunostimulants of plant origin may serve as viable alternatives to veterinary drugs containing harmful chemicals in aquaculture. She hopes her work will enhance the sustainability of fish farming while increasing the nutritional value of fish for consumers. Currently, she is focused on expanding her research portfolio in the areas of proximate analysis of selected plant species used in aquaculture and microbiological assessment of farmed fish and shrimp.
- says AFC leadership ‘failed miserably’ to mask their true intentions
newly elected leader
“THE party (Alliance for Change) has appointed Dr. Vincent Adams and Mr. David Patterson to head the Alliance for Change oil and gas advisory committee… until we attain government, I will have no input in or involvement with the AFC oil and gas committees,” said Nigel Hughes during a news conference on Friday.
And, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, during an interview on Friday evening, called attention to the fact that this excuse – a seemingly fig leaf over major conflict of interest concerns, now that Hughes leads the AFC and represents oil giant, ExxonMobil – bears a striking resemblance to the one peddled by his spouse, Cathy Hughes, when it was discovered that contracts from her ministry under the former coalition government were given to her company, VideoMega.
Despite claiming that she stepped away from the day-today operations of her company, the disclosure of cheques subsequently found that she was still actively involved.
He said: “This is the same thing her husband is saying now – ‘oh, I have my company, but I am separating from it and I will have no role’ – exact, same thing, her husband is saying now. Then in 2018 she was still signing cheques…she was still involved. Lying to the people of this country…it is the exact, same, thing that Nigel Hughes is saying today.”
He stressed that Hughes, who is not a stranger to a new leader in the political arena,
is clearly finding it difficult to distance himself from the duplicity of the AFC. “I think they went into panic mode,” Dr. Jagdeo said.
Notably, Hughes and a number of executive members of his party organised a press conference on Friday afternoon. The leader endeavoured to provide an explanation for the absence of conflict between his personal interests and the national interests.
Jagdeo said: “The entire purpose of the press conference was to prove that Nigel Hughes did not have a conflict of interest, and he failed miserably at that. Secondly, it was designed to get this entire corrupt cabal to support him to remain as leader, and at the same time continue to profit from a contract with Exxon Mobil.”
Jagdeo said that the attorney-at-law sought to ‘conveniently define’, in his own way, what a conflict of interest is. “For a person who said that when the national interest conflicts with that of his client, the client’s interest would prevail. How could you the leader of a political party (take this position) …and you’re seeking to be the presidential candidate for the upcoming elections?” Jagdeo quizzed.
He stressed that not only is this a conflict of interest, but it is also ‘immoral and obscene’ for an individual who is expected to serve the populace to contemplate that.
He highlighted both the AFC and Hughes’ disregard for
THE Director of Prisons, Nicklon Elliot, has affirmed the commitment of the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) to continuously provide in-service training courses to enhance the knowledge and professional capacity of its personnel throughout their careers. This initiative is part of a broader effort to maintain high standards within the prison system.
In a recent statement, the GPS announced that 281 prison officers received training in the first half of 2024, with plans to train an additional 250 officers in the second half of the year. These officers completed 27 different courses, including Prison Management, Human Rights, and Supervisory Management. This training initiative is funded by a portion of the $6.5 billion allocated to the Prison Service for 2024, specifically earmarked for prison management training for over 400 personnel.
Further demonstrating its commitment to the professional development of its staff, the GPS revealed that 31 prison officers have been awarded scholarships through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) for 2024. These scholarships will enable officers to further their education in various fields, including National Security and Intelligence, Accounting and Finance, Public Relations, Occupational Safety and Health, and Human and Financial Resource Management.
The GOAL initiative, launched in 2021, is a key component of the government's agenda to create an educated workforce. This year, $4 billion has been allocated to support 6,000 new students and 3,967 continuing students under the GOAL programme. In May, over 1,700 individuals graduated from various programmes offered through GOAL, reflecting the programme's success and impact.
GOAL provides a wide range of academic and vocational programmes through partnerships with several international universities. These programmes include Certificate, Diploma, Bachelor’s, Post-Graduate, Master’s, and Doctorate levels, with the primary objective of delivering 20,000 scholarships by 2025. Impressively, the programme has already surpassed this goal, as announced during the recent graduation ceremony.
The GPS's ongoing training and the GOAL scholarship initiative highlight the government's commitment to improving the education and professional capabilities of prison officers. These efforts not only aim to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the prison system but also contribute to the broader goal of creating a more skilled and educated workforce in Guyana.
A FIRE Friday afternoon at Lot 88, C Field, Sophia has left a family devastated and a community mourning. The Guyana Fire Service received a call at 15:59 hours and arrived on the scene within minutes. Despite their swift response, the one-flat wooden and concrete building belonging to 42-year-old Nigel Anderson was completely destroyed.
Sadly, the fire claimed the life of one of Mr. Anderson’s children, Junior Anderson. The family, including Shonnette Anderson, 37, Michael Anderson, 11, Waveny Anderson, 15, and Cynthia Anderson, 6, are now left homeless.
The fire led to the total devastation of the building and its contents, rendering four individuals without a place to live.
Based on preliminary investigations, it appears that the fire was caused by children who were playing with matches. The open flames caused a mattress to catch fire, subsequently igniting nearby combustible materials and resulting in the rapid spread of the fire throughout the structure.
Firefighters swiftly extinguished the blaze using two jets from Water Carrier #18 and one jet from Water Tender #105.
The evidence gathered at the scene indicates that a 16-year-old was assigned the responsibility of looking after
three children. Based on the teenager’s testimony, she entrusted the children to their playtime and then retired to rest, eventually succumbing to slumber. The teenager stated that she was awoken by one of the minors, who conveyed to her the occurrence of a fire in the dwelling. Gripped by fear, she quickly escaped from the dwelling. The Fire Service was contacted and, upon investigation, ascertained that one of the children was missing. Firefighters discovered charred remains following the extinguishment of the fire.
The Guyana Fire Service extends sincere condolences to the parents and other relatives of the young child who lost his life.
Following this tragic event, it is important for parents and guardians to educate children about the hazards of fire starters such as matches and lighters, and caution them against their usage.
It is imperative that children are not left unattended or unsupervised at home.
The utmost priority is to safeguard children by prohibiting their access to the cooking area, while continuously ensuring matches and lighters remain inaccessible.
It is important to ensure that homes are equipped with fire prevention and firefighting devices, such as smoke detectors and fire extinguishers.
By Feona Morrison
WITHIN a composed courtroom ambiance on Friday, Justice Sandil Kissoon methodically recounted the alarming intricacies surrounding the merciless killing of Marcus Thomas, a 39-yearold father of seven and bus driver residing in Kuru Kururu, on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, prior to delivering extensive prison sentences to the perpetrators.
Twenty-four-year-old Kevin O’Neil, a father of one, and Anal Hope, 22, the two cousins who pleaded guilty to a joint indictment for the capital offence last month, returned to the Demerara High Court Friday afternoon for their sentencing hearing.
Both clad in white long-sleeved shirts, O’Neil and Hope stood calmly in
elder family member. The courtroom was crowded with family members of both the convicts and the bus driver.
According to the prosecution’s facts, on May 11, 2021, the duo attacked and fatally stabbed and chopped Thomas at his Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke-Linden Highway home.
The evidence detailed a
the prisoner’s dock as the judge sentenced them to serve 20 years and 18 years in prison, respectively, for what he termed a “brutal” and “premeditated” murder.
O’Neil was given a more severe sentence due to being perceived as the primary instigator. Justice Kissoon granted Hope a more lenient sentence upon determining that he had been influenced by his
violent altercation that ended deadly, leaving Thomas with eight incised wounds, including chops to his face, chest and other parts of his body.
The incident began with an argument outside Thomas’s home, and quickly escalated as Thomas ran inside to escape the confrontation. Armed with knives and cutlasses, O’Neil and Hope pursued him, kicking down his door and launch-
ing a vicious attack that resulted in his death.
Following the commission of the crime, they fled to Hubu Backdam, in Parika, East Bank Essequibo (EBE). However, their flight was short-lived when they were apprehended just two days later.
Thomas’ cause of death was given as shock and haemorrhage.
During the occurrence, Thomas was in a common-law relationship with a female cousin of the cousins. According to the probation report, O’Neil asserted that Thomas had assaulted him and caused a fracture in his jaw previously. Consequently, the deceased man had incurred the resentment of his relatives.
Both O’Neil and Hope admitted that they were under the influence of alcohol when they committed the crime, according to the probation report.
During a plea in mitigation on O’Neil’s behalf, Attorney Konyo Sandiford conceded that nothing could justify her client’s actions, and that excessive alcohol consumption could not be used as an excuse. Emphasisng that her client took responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity, she beseeched the court
for mercy, and to impose a sentence that would allow him a chance to return and make a meaningful contribution to society.
Sandiford also read aloud a statement from her client, in which he expressed regret for his actions, and sought forgiveness from the deceased’s family and the court.
Hope’s attorney, Ronald Bostwick expressed similar sentiments, and pointed out that his client’s guilty plea was “genuine and not tactical”. From the inception, he said Hope gave a statement in which he made certain admissions to police detectives.
When given a chance to address the court, Hope said: “I am sorry for what happened. I’d like to ask the court to have mercy on me, because I was under alcohol at the moment.”
The young man claimed that attending anger management classes while incarcerated had improved his ability to control his anger.
The probation officer was informed by Thomas’s mother, and one of his sisters that their loved one had been “robbed of his life”, and that his killers should be imprisoned for the remainder of their lives in order to prevent them from harming anybody else.
‘A HEARTBREAKING
LOSS’
In a victim impact statement, one of Thomas’s sisters reflected on their good relationship, and called his passing “a heartbreaking loss”. His mother, who is in her seventies, said that the passing of her son has caused her family “immeasurable pain” and that she never thought she would lose him in such a horrible way.
Justice Kissoon denounced the cousins’ acts as “premeditated” and “brutal” during his sentencing remarks. He also said that Thomas was killed inside his home, “his castle,” where security is supposed to be guaranteed.
The judge stated that Thomas was murdered during a home invasion in front of a minor, not for financial gain but rather to cause him grievous bodily injury.
In addition to the high degree of premeditation, Justice Kissoon also cited the men’s use of lethal weapons and their gratuitous act of violence, which resulted in serious injuries to Thomas’s vulnerable and critical bodily parts.
Moreover, he highlighted the presence of defensive wounds on Thomas remains which, according to him, indicated that he was “fighting for his life”.
In accordance with his testimony, the deceased
showed signs of chop wounds on his face, Adam’s apple, and a chest wound that penetrated his heart.
Justice Kissoon emphasised that the frequent occurrence of unlawful killings is a worry for any civilized society governed by the rule of law and that, in this sense, sentence must act as a deterrence to both the offenders and any potential criminals.
He said that he would not impose an indeterminate (life) sentence because of the killers’ youthful age, and their “genuine” expression of remorse. He said, too, that he had no doubts about their ability to be rehabilitated.
The judge bemoaned the “unfortunate” incident, stating it was alcohol-related and should not have happened. Ultimately, both men received jail sentences from Justice Kissoon after he weighed the nature of the crime, the convicts’ backgrounds, and aggravating and mitigating circumstances presented by the lawyers. He mandated that they participate in a vocational training programmes and anger management sessions to help with their rehabilitation.
The prosecution’s case was led by attorneys Joy Williams and Padma Dubraj.
By Cindy Parkinson
ACKNOWLEDGING the inconveniences caused by ongoing infrastructural development across the country, Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to minimising delays in community development programmes.
In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Minister Edghill provided updates on the progress of the Lamaha expansion project, emphasising its importance in enhancing connectivity between Vlissengen Road and Middleton Street, Georgetown.
“The delay on this Lamaha project is unacceptable, but now that it is moving forward, we are expecting it to be completed by the end of this month,” Minister Edghill stated, acknowledging the challenges that have hindered the project’s timeline. He expressed gratitude to the affected residents for their patience, underscoring the government’s dedication to delivering quality infrastructure that meets community needs.
Minister Edghill additionally stated that the road not only provides advantages for the residents in the vicinity, but also serves a wider function for
the overall community. In his statement, he emphasised the significance of this road as a connecting route for both the residents of the area and the users of the wider thoroughfare, allowing seamless travel from Vlissengen to Sheriff Street.
Furthermore, it was noted by the Minister that the connecting roads extend from Lamaha to conversation tree, and further to Sheriff Street in a western direction.
“Our aim as a government has always been to aid in the development of our people, starting from a community level. In every region across Guyana, there are highways and
Works are progressing
community roads that are being built, and the small contractors from within those communities are being given the contracts, while others are being given the opportunity to gain meaningful employment. However, while we are creating employment for our people, we will not accept substandard or incomplete work from anyone,” Minister Edghill added.
Additionally, the Public Works Minister has affirmed that the ongoing construction projects on the East Coast of Demerara Highway; Thomas Lands, and nationwide are expected to alleviate traffic congestion and provide individuals with enhanced accessibility to their desig-
nated destinations.
Minister Edghill went on to elaborate, stating, “In the context of a developing nation, one can reasonably expect a rise in both population size and traffic congestion on roadways.”
However, “we have to put measures in place so that we can deal with all of this. So, while we may all be inconvenienced at some point in time due to the massive development that is taking place across this nation, we must also remember that it won’t be like this forever.”
He concluded: “I hope our Guyanese brothers and sisters realise that whatever President Dr. Irfaan Ali and his government are doing is for more than just
tomorrow, it is to provide long-term benefits to our children and our children’s children.”
Based on reports, Devcon Inc. and Sawa Investment Inc. were granted contracts for the Lamaha expansion project, with a total value of $306.6 million and $192 million, respectively. The project was divided into two distinct phases.
The project, which began on November 21, 2022, involves the removal of existing asphalt surfaces, reconstruction and expansion of roads, installation of rigid paved shoulders, and construction of reinforced concrete retaining walls and drainage systems.
THE University of Guyana (UG) is celebrating the recent appointment of the Rt. Hon. Professor David Lammy as Foreign Secretary in the new administration of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Recognising Lammy's longstanding commitment and contributions, the university community extends warm congratulations to one of its esteemed allies and collaborators.
Prof. David Lammy, born to Guyanese parents in London in 1972, has maintained a close relationship with the University of Guyana over the years. His involvement dates back to his appointment as
Standing at the podium, from right, are: President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, University of Guyana’s ViceChancellor Professor Paloma Mohamed Martin, Rt Hon. David Lammy, and Nicola Green at a function at the University of Guyana to celebrate the inauguration of the Sophia Point Rainforest Research Centre in 2023
the first Envoy Extraordinaire on the University's Council in 2019, a role he continues to serve with distinction.
scores his significant impact on our institution."
Chancellor Prof. Edward Greene echoed these sentiments, conveying, "The University of Guyana has been greatly honored by Prof. Lammy's presence and his dedicated service to academia. His achievements resonate deeply with our community."
ter of Laws degree in 1997. His legal expertise and commitment to public service have seen him serve as Minister for Culture and Minister for Higher Education in the UK government.
Professor Paloma Mohamed expressed her admiration, stating, "Prof. David Lammy has been an invaluable
University of Guyana Vice-Chancellor
partner in numerous research initiatives, particularly in sustainability and biodiversity. His dedication to education and governance under-
Throughout his career, Lammy has made significant strides in law and governance. A graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Harvard Law School, Lammy became the first black Briton to attend Harvard Law School, where he earned a Mas-
In response to Lammy's appointment, the university community, including students, faculty, and staff, extends heartfelt congratulations to Foreign Secretary Lammy and the entire new British government. Lammy's journey from humble beginnings to such influential positions serves as an inspiration to many aspiring scholars and leaders globally.
FROM PAGE 19
the people of Guyana.
“Where Nigel Hughes’ money is concerned, he will give up national interest; that’s the moral of the whole story,” Jagdeo said.
The Vice President noted that Hughes still has much to answer for.
He said: “You have this committee and they come up with some policy advice. They give it to the leader. So as leader of the party now ‘I will not speak publicly about the advice that my committee, my party, gives me, because it conflicts with the interest of my client. So, I will not advocate for it. So, I am abdicating my responsibility as leader of the party.’”
Dr. Jagdeo also pointed out that the party, Alliance For Change (AFC), has representation in the National Assembly. “Secondly, his party (AFC) is represented in the National Assembly, so he says ‘I can only influence government policy when I am president and therefore, I will resign when I am president’. But he is in a position to influence government policy through the National Assembly. There are three branches of government – the Judiciary, the Executive arm of the State and the Legislature. His MPs are there. He can influence them as leader of the party to vote on a legislation in favour of his client, so also, he is in a conflict-of-interest position there.
The issue of potential political funding through legal services was also raised. He said: “Also, he himself had said, sometime in the past, that these oil companies can fund political parties. And they can take over a country. So, if now Nigel Hughes is the lawyer for ExxonMobil, if he remains the lawyer for this company, and the company pays him for services then what is there to say that this can’t be a conduit for political contributions to his party. Because they can easily inflate the legal bill to give him funding for his political party…he has not addressed this. This is an easy path for political contributions because Exxon is prohibited from making political contributions in the countries they are operating in, outside of the US.”
SELF-INTEREST OVER COUNTRY
Further, while Hughes has been a politically exposed person since his wife became a Parliamentarian, his position now as leader of a political party, has brought him under greater scrutiny.
The issue of the conflict of interest arose after Hughes on June 30, 2024, hours after being elected as AFC leader, was quoted by a local news outlet, saying that he would not break ties from his law firm – Hughes, Fields and Stoby – which represents ExxonMobil unless he is elected to the government.
Hughes said: “No, no! This issue really only arises if and when I become President or acquire a position of power because, then, I’m in a position to influence government policy,
they can claim. Right now, I can’t influence government and, therefore, it’s a theoretical conflict.”
Further, the online outlet reported that when asked what would happen if he has to draft a contract or represent ExxonMobil or any other oil and gas sector company in a court case that might go against the grain of the welfare and interest of Guyanese who he is representing politically, Hughes’ response was, “You seriously couldn’t be asking me to compromise my client’s integrity because the interest of Guyana is at stake because I happen to be the leader of a political party….if you hired me in a case against the government of Guyana and you’re going to get an advantage to the disadvantage to the citizens, are you saying I should compromise the quality of advice I give to you and the quality of representation I give to you because Guyana is on the other side? That can’t be right. You’re putting any professional in a position where they have to make a biased decision and they will not be giving their clients the best possible legal service which they are hired to do.”
On Thursday, Dr. Jagdeo, also General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), referred to the findings of a report by Clyde & Co. International Law Firm, which was commissioned by the former government. Clyde & Co International Law Firm, a company headquartered in London, England, was commissioned to conduct an “independent” report based on an investigation into the circumstances leading to the execution of the Petroleum Agreement June 27, 2016 –the renegotiated ExxonMobil contract.
Dr. Jagdeo had said: “If you look at the Clyde & Co report, presented on January 30, 2020 –basically to justify that nothing was wrong with the 2016 agreement. But there are some very telling things that came out of a detailed reading of the report.
“…the report said, ‘On 19 May 2015, we understand EEPGL sent a proposed ‘Escrow Process’ flowchart, setting out the various steps and timeline for the execution of a new petroleum agreement (what would become the 2016 Agreement).
“…so, in the period from May 2015 when Nigel Hughes was still Chairman of the AFC, the negotiations started. Their own report said that Exxon sent this document over in May 2015.”
The report also stated that an ExxonMobil official, Brooke Harris, drafted Guyana negotiating position for the new ExxonMobil deal. It added that the Cabinet Memorandum that was approved to greenlight the renegotiation with ExxonMobil was based on email correspondences and drafts exchanged between the APNU+AFC Coalition and ExxonMobil.
The report, on page 29, said: “We understand that on 25 May 2016 Mr (Brooke) Harris provided by email a first draft Cabinet Memorandum.” Page 30 added, “We understand that the Cabinet
Memorandum was prepared further to the email correspondence and draft versions exchanged between Mrs Homer and Mr (Brooke) Harris during the period 20 May to 31 May 2016.”
The Clyde & Co International Law Firm’s 30-page report was completed on January 30, 2020.
GLOBAL
Dr. Jagdeo had also called attention to the 2020 Global Witness Report, which further underscored the conflict of interest involving Hughes.
Referring to page 15 of the report, he stated that the report read: “Hughes has denied that his relationships with Trotman and Exxon represent a conflict of interest. In July 2019, he told Global Witness that his time as AFC Chairman did not really overlap with Trotman’s time as Minister of Natural Resources. Hughes did resign his post as AFC Chairman near the start of the Stabroek negotiations
and was not in this post when Trotman was negotiating with Exxon in June 2016. However, as reported in the Guyanese press, Trotman became a minister in May 2015, eleven months before Hughes relinquished his AFC position in April 2016.”
He added, “Hughes said I was not Exxon’s lawyer when Trotman was Minister, but it wasn’t true. Eleven months after Trotman was Minister that is when he resigned. So, what we had was the General Secretary of AFC (Trotman) negotiating with Exxon and the Chairman of AFC (Nigel Hughes) is Exxon’s lawyer.”
Conflict of interest concerns were initially publicised in the February 2020 with the publication of a Global Witness Report titled ‘Signed Away’. The renegotiated deal with ExxonMobil was done “quickly” and “apparently without a competitive bidding process” in 2016, according to the report.
The report made clear that
the rushed signing of a re-negotiated deal with ExxonMobil was also due in part to the company’s “seemingly aggressive tactics” that succeeded with the engagement of Trotman. “Trotman had reason to know that his Stabroek negotiation terms were weak…. Exxon needed a new deal, and it aggressively pursued one. In early April 2016, the company opened negotiations in Texas by confronting two inexperienced Guyanese officials,” the report said. The renegotiated deal was signed on June 27, 2016. Further, while the APNU+AFC Coalition’s Trotman was legally responsible for the oil and gas sector in 2016, during which period the ExxonMobil agreement was renegotiated, concerns about the role of his then partner in the AFC, Nigel Hughes, were been spotlighted in a damning report.
Notably, when the renegotiated ExxonMobil contract was finally released, on page 4, the address of Hughes’ law office is listed as the registered office –62 Hadfield and Cross Streets, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown – of the oil company.
Although the report was withdrawn in 2021, Global Witness in a statement said: “We stand by the integrity of the evidence we have presented.” Global Witness had called for the relationship between Trotman, Hughes, and Exxon to be investigated to determine the existence or extent of any conflict of interest.
The report, on page 14 said: “Trotman was legally responsible for assessing and approving or rejecting Guyana’s oil licenses. However, during the 2016 Stabroek negotiations Trotman had a possible conflict of interest. Trotman’s main political partner – Nigel Hughes – had served as one of Exxon’s lawyers on other matters, and Hughes’ firm periodically represents Exxon as a client.”
(Saturday July 06, 2024)
CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158)
Answers to yesterday’s quiz:
(1) Ernest Tyldesley-122 (Lord’s, 1928)
(2) Clifford Roach-122 (Bridgetown, 1930)
Today’s Quiz:
(1) Who is the first ENG bowler to claim a five-wicket innings haul in a Test against the West Indies?
(2) Who is the first WI to do so in a Test against England?
Answers in tomorrow’s issue
AMERICAN RACING TIPS
BELMONT
Race 1 Tiz Freedom
Race 2 Save The Trees
Race 3 Fauci
Race 4 Five To Two
Race 5 Amundson
Race 6 Trikari
Race 7 Reeuah
Race 8 Ninetypercentmaddie
CANADIAN RACING TIPS
WOODBINE
Race 1 Rolling Along
Race 2 Blameless
Ghost
Race 3 Souper Supreme
Race 4 Phillip My Wine
Race 5 Ella it Is
Race 6 Veery
Race 7 English Shirl
ENGLISH RACING TIPS
HAYDOCK
08:30 hrs Due For Luck
09:05 hrs Wild Waves
09:40 hrs Lady Boba
10:15 hrs Epic Poet
10:50 hrs Hofburg
11:25 hrs Billyjoh 12:00 hrs Treasure Time
SANDOWN
08:15 hrs Storm Star
08:50 hrs Desperate
Hero
09:25 hrs Holloway Boy
10:00 hrs Regal Jubilee
10:35 hrs City Of Troy
11:12 hrs Blake
11:42 hrs Balmacara
IRISH RACING TIPS
NAAS
09:10 hrs Flash The Cash
09:45 hrs Red Evolution 10:20 hrs American In Paris
10:55 hrs Tai Tam Bay
11:30 hrs Swagman 12:05 hrs Elinor Dashwood 12:40 hrs Tyder
SOUTH AFRICA RACING TIPS
GREYVILLE
08:20 hrs Quid Pro Quo
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10:00 hrs Flagman
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11:40 hrs Cafe Culture
12:20 hrs The Horizon
13:00 hrs Captain Peg
13:40 hrs Choclate Soldier
(BBC) - Manchester City and Manchester United have been cleared to take their places in European competition next season after conflicts over multi-club ownership with Girona and Nice respectively were resolved.
However, United will be prevented from signing highly-rated Nice defender, JeanClair Todibo, by Uefa.
City Football Group owns City and Girona,
while Ineos controls the football operations of United and Nice, and Uefa does not allow clubs with the same ownership to be involved in the same competition.
The Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) of European football's governing body said on Friday "significant changes" had been made at Girona and Nice which would "substantially restrict investors' influence and
decision-making power".
In addition, shares have been transferred through independent trustees to a blind trust, which will be supervised by the CFCB.
Among additional guarantees given by the City Football Group and Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos Group to prove the independence of the respective clubs, they agreed not to transfer players "permanently or on loan, either
directly or indirectly from July 2024 to September 2025".
This means United will not be able to sign Frenchman Todibo, the £40m-rated defender Ratcliffe had hoped would switch clubs.
However, City's pursuit of Brazilian winger Savio will be unaffected as he has returned to parent club Troyes, which is also part of the City Football Group, after his loan with Girona expired on June 30.
A CFG source told BBC Sport that City and Girona were compliant with all the CFCB requests.
Ineos said in a state-
ment: "We are pleased with the positive decision from the First Chamber of the Uefa Club Financial Control Body which will see Manchester United play in the Europa League next season. The focus for Manchester United is on the season ahead and performance on the pitch."
City will be playing in their 14th consecutive Champions League campaign, but Girona qualified for the first time by finishing third in La Liga, their highest ever league position.
Nice also seemed set to qualify for Europe's most prestigious
club competition for a long time last season, but eventually finished fifth in Ligue 1. Manchester United qualified for the Europa League by beating Premier League champions City in the FA Cup final.
It remains to be seen how the matter is dealt with over the longer term, given the shares are due to be transferred back in July 2025.
At that point, CFCB say the clubs will be considered to be "under the control or decisive influence of their investor".
(BBC) - DEFENDING champion, Carlos Alcaraz, avoided a surprise exit at Wimbledon by holding off American Frances Tiafoe in a five-set thriller.
The Spaniard won an intense match 5-7 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 in front of a raucous Centre Court crowd.
It keeps Alcaraz's hopes of winning backto-back major titles alive after triumphing at the French Open last month.
"Obviously it is always a big challenge playing against Frances," said third seed Alcaraz.
"All I was thinking is 'fight one more ball'."
Friday's first match on the main show court lived up to the pair's previous meeting in the semi-finals of the 2022 US Open.
Alcaraz was the victor on that occasion as well, beating Tiafoe in
a five-set epic on the way to winning his first Grand Slam title.
Tiafoe was seeded 10th at Wimbledon last year, but he has since dropped down the rankings and suffered second-round exits at this year's Australian Open and French Open.
Now 29th in the world rankings, he frustrated Alcaraz throughout and received the early backing of the crowd after coming back from a break down to take the opening set.
"He is a really talented player, really tough to face," Alcaraz added.
"He deserves to be at the top, he deserves to fight for big things."
Alcaraz, who had not dropped a set at the Championships until then, regained control in the second, but a single break of serve was enough for Tiafoe to win the third.
The American waved to the crowd and pointed to his ears, calling for more noise under the closed Centre Court roof.
The fans willingly obliged, cheering on the 26-year-old through the fourth set until it reached a tie-break after both players' serve held firm.
Sensing the crowd were on his opponent's side, Alcaraz whipped up emotion with cries of "vamos" after striking huge winners and he cruised his way through to force a decider.
From there it was plain sailing for the three-time major winner, who broke twice before raising his arms in celebration after sealing the victory with a delightful drop shot.
He will play American Brandon Nakashima or French 16th seed Ugo Humbert in the fourth round.
CMC – Alick Athanaze and Joshua Da Silva warmed up for higher intensity battles in the coming weeks with unbeaten half-centuries that were the highlights for West Indies before the opening match on their Tour of England against the First-Class Counties Select XI ended in a draw on Friday.
Athanaze was not out on 66 and Da Silva was not out on 51 when West Indies declared their second innings on 196 for five at the rescheduled tea break on the rain-spoilt final day of the three-day match at the Kent County Cricket Ground.
The Counties Select XI were 30 for two in their second innings when stumps were drawn in the match for the final time after they were set an improbable target of 163 to win in the final session of play.
Uncapped pacer, Jeremiah Louis, who replaced injured Kemar Roach in the West Indies squad for the tour, then got opener Harry Singh caught behind for a 12-ball duck, and Johann Layne, a member of the Cricket West Indies Academy squad returning to the Caribbean from their Tour of Ireland, got Jamal Richards caught behind for six before the two teams decided it was futile to continue.
“Barring a bit of adverse weather, we have managed to get a lot of solid cricket played over the last three days, so we are generally happy with what has happened on the tour so far,” West Indies assistant coach, Jimmy Adams told CWI Media.
“What we would have wanted to get from the time spent out in the middle, we have gotten. The weather has been kind to us, we know that it could get a little bit rough [in England], but all in all, we are very happy with what the weather has allowed and the facilities we have been given, and what the guys have been able to produce.”
West Indies now head to the British capital of London, where they will continue preparations ahead of the first Test against hosts England, starting on Wednesday at the so-called home of the sport, Lord’s.
“I think it is important
that they [the batsmen] get as much ‘live’ practice as they can in conditions that a lot of them are not familiar with,” Adams added.
“I would say that irrespective of anywhere they have travelled outside of the Caribbean, a lot of them have not toured England before –some have – but a lot of the batters haven’t, so [this tour match] was an opportunity for them to get as acquainted with conditions as possible before they run into the international opposition, and I think they have done it pretty well.”
Earlier, Athanaze and Da Silva shared 91 – unbroken – for the sixth wicket after there was no play before lunch with the visitors set to continue from their overnight total of 57 for two.
Opener Mikyle Louis made 28 and was one of three wickets that the West Indies lost in the span of half-hour when play started 2-1/2 hours later than scheduled because of adverse weather, and they were 105 for five.
But Athanaze led the resistance for the Caribbean side during two-and-a-half hours at the crease in which time he struck 11 fours from 99 balls, and Da Silva struck half-dozen fours from 69 balls in an hour-and-a-half.
Athanaze reached his 50 from 62 balls when he clipped pacer Jamal Richards through backward square leg for a single.
Da Silva arrived at the landmark from 68 balls when he pulled off-spinner Farham Ahmed, younger brother of England teenaged leg-spinner, Rehan Ahmed, through mid-wicket for his final boundary before the declaration came during the rescheduled tea break.
Adams said the Caribbean side will be looking to build on the knowledge they gained from the tour match and draw on their experience from this past January of winning a Test in Australia for the first time in almost three decades to offer a competitive front to England.
“It’s a really good group in terms of their ability and their willingness to learn,” he said. “Some of them went to Australia a few months back and they showed this capacity to learn very quickly, and I am hoping that this
continues.
“As a coach you cannot ask for more. They work hard, they learn quickly, and what we can do is to give them a little heads-up about what to expect both in terms of conditions and knowledge about the opposition.”
Adams said: “We want
to build on it [the win in Australia]. I can’t speak to what is happening outside of the team or around, but from a team perspective, it was a great fillip for us. Certainly, when you have a young group, you are keen to bed down a lot of things.
“Some of them are ear-
ly in their careers, and results like that can help the teaching process because it reinforces and moves things from theory to reality. It then means that, maybe, instead of having to teach, you can remind because they have been there and nothing really is a substitute for having
been in a battle and come out on the other side intact, so hopefully we can add to that going forward.”
The second Test of the series starts on July 18 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, and the third Test starts on July 26 at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
CMC – Pakistan will host seven Tests between August this year and February next year, including two against West Indies, in a packed international red-ball home season.
It will be the first time, in close to two decades, that the Caribbean side will be playing Tests there, after the Pakistan Cricket Board announced, on Friday, that its men’s national team will play in three Test series and participate in the first Oneday International tri-series
in 21 years, in the lead up to the eight-team ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on home turf.
West Indies are scheduled to play the Pakistanis in two Tests from January 16 in Karachi and January 24 in Multan in only the eighth Test tour to the country since their opponents gained Test status in 1952.
“Whilst we have toured Pakistan many times in recent years, it will have been almost two decades since
we last played Test cricket there,” Cricket West Indies chief executive officer, Johnny Grave, said.
“The 2006 series also had Tests in both Karachi and Multan, and we look forward to returning for a competitive series against another proud Test cricketing nation.”
On the previous occasion the Caribbean side played Tests in Pakistan in 2006, Brian Lara’s side endured a 2-0 defeat in a three-match rubber against
Inzamam-ul-Haq’s side.
Of the 21 Tests that they have played in Pakistan, West Indies have won only four, lost nine and the other eight have ended in draws.
Pakistan has also played five Tests against West Indies in 2002 and 2016 in the United Arab Emirates when they were the host team – with the Caribbean side losing all but one of them.
The two-Test series will also be the final for West Indies in the current cy -
cle of the ICC World Test Championship.
Each of the top nine Test-playing nations are scheduled to play six series (three home and three away) in the ICC World Test Championship 202325 cycle.
To date, West Indies have played four matches in two series at home against India in July last year and away against Australia in January this year, winning one, losing two, and drawing one.
This has put them in sixth position on the points table with 16 points to which they will be looking to add when they face hosts England in three Tests this month.
India lead the table with 74 points after three series, followed by Australia (90 points from four series), New Zealand (36 points from three series), Sri Lanka (24 points from two series), and Pakistan (22 points from two series).
(BBC) - FRANCE beat Portugal in a penalty shootout and Spain Beat Germany in extra time to reach the semi-finals of Euro 2024 after tense showdowns.
Theo Hernandez scored the winning penalty after substitute Joao Felix hit the outside of the post with his effort, the only miss.
Players sprinted over
to the other end of the pitch to celebrate with fans afterwards, while Portugal, who had overcome Slovenia via a shootout five days ago, were left feeling deflated while they
applauded their supporters.
It marks the end of an era for Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who confirmed this week it would be his final Euros.
Before the match, all eyes had been on a showdown between 39-yearold Ronaldo and France's Kylian Mbappe but both failed to have an impact, though the Portugal striker did put away his spot-kick.
Mbappe had to be substituted in extra time after an earlier whack to his face, covered with a mask due to a broken nose, so he was unable to take part in the shootout.
It had been a cagey match with relatively few chances though Portugal had the best of them.
Bruno Fernandes and Vitinha were both denied by goalkeeper Mike Maignan before France's Randal Kolo Muani had a shot deflected inches wide by Ruben Dias.
Moments later, Eduardo Camavinga should have put France ahead when he dragged an effort beyond the far post from close range.
But extra time was needed and when the
moment came, Portugal's talisman Ronaldo stabbed a cutback from Francisco Conceicao way over the bar, to the astonishment of fans behind the goal and their luck ran out after a second shootout in consecutive games.
It means France will now face Spain in the semi-finals in Munich on Tuesday (20:00 BST kick-off).
Meanwhile Spain kept themselves on course to win a fourth European Championship as Mikel Merino's 119th-minute goal sent them into the semi-finals and eliminated hosts Germany following a pulsating encounter at Stuttgart Arena.
This was the most anticipated match of the tournament so far as it put together the resurgent home nation against arguably the best-performing side to date at Euro 2024 - and it certainly lived up to expectation.
Played with aggression, tension and drama the contest barely let those watching pause for breath from the moment Dani Olmo gave Spain the lead six minutes into the second half.
The substitute side-footed home a cross from 16-year-old star Lamine Yamal - his third assist of the Euros - and his strike opened up a game that had been played with caution until then.
Germany hit the post through their own substitute Niclas Fullkrug, but equalised in the final minute of normal time when Florian Wirtz sent a thunderous strike in off the post to send the home fans wild.
Mikel Oyarzabal and Wirtz then sent efforts agonisingly wide in extra time, Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon superbly clawed away a Fullkrug header while Germany had penalty appeals dismissed after the ball struck Marc Cucurella's hand in the box.
But with seconds remaining of a thrilling tie, Real Sociedad forward Merino - who spent the 2017-18 season at Newcastle United - thumped home a header to send Spain into the semi-finals, where they will face France in Munich on Tuesday, July 9.
TWO matches will bounce off the Kevin ‘2Feet’ Joseph and Team 13 sponsored Under-23 basketball competition to be played at the Amelia’s Ward Hard Court tonight (Saturday) in Linden.
Home team Amelia’s Ward Jets will face Block 22 Flames in the opener at 18.30hrs and the second game will feature Victory Valley Royals and Retrieve Raiders from 20.30hrs.
Organised by Kevin ‘2Feet” Joseph and Team 13, the tournament has attracted five clubs which are affiliated to the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) and they are Jets, Flames, Roy -
als, Raiders and Central Mackenzie Kings.
Tomorrow (Sunday) the double header feature will start at 18.30hrs when Flames will ‘collide’ with Kings in the first game and the other will pit
Royals against Jets from 20.30hrs.
Trophies and medals are on offer to the four teams which qualify for the semi-finals and final following what will be a round-robin format with each team facing the other to determine which tops the group play to face the number four and the second and their place finishers will meet in the other semi-final.
Kwakwani Secondary U-14 boys and President’s College girls dominated on their way to the quarter final stage of the Youth Basketball Guyana organised National Schools Basketball Festival ongoing at the National Gymnasium.
Under 14 Category
Kwakwani Secondary saw a fabulous game from Tahir Conway as they stormed their way into the next round with a 32-point thrashing of St. Stanislaus College on Thursday.
The game ended 40-8.
Kwakwani’s Conway dropped 20 Points and 7 rebounds in a stunning shooting display that saw his team take charge early in the clash to come out with an impressive victory.
Darion Bunbury supported well with 10 points and 5 rebounds in the victory.
Queen’s College opened the action on Thursday with a comfortable win against
The clash played over two days saw QC emerging winners 25-13 with Jared Bouchers leading the way with 8 points and 5 rebounds in the low scoring affair.
The Bishops’ High also tipped President’s College 18-13 in their encounter with Kemol Pickering continuing to show his credentials with 11 points and 12 rebounds in the 5-point win.
The Mackenzie High School also produced a blowout performance when they faced off with YBG academy side.
Mackenzie would capture a 34-points victory with a 5016 finish.
Mackenzie had a number of role players that came to the fore for them with Latrell Glasgow and Shaquan Messiah getting into double digits.
Glasgow had 12 points coupled with 5 steals with 10 points for Messiah.
Terron Mohabir and Isa-
iah Browsler also put up 8 points each.
Meanwhile, on day 4 in the U14 division, Berbice High defeated Marian Academy 35-16 with 25 points from Avion Kensey. Mackenzie High also eased pass St Rose’s High 26-18.
Shaquan Messiah led Mackenzie with 16 points.
Girl’s category
President's College (A) left Queen’s College gutted with 63-2 hammering.
PC had four players in double figures, led by Krizel Wells who had 14 points, Akeelah Campbell (12 Points) and Obena Hinds (10 points).
Kwakwani Secondary closed off day 5 with an 18-5 points win over President's College B.
Sherese Leacock had 8 points and 9 steals and Brianna Benjamin 4 points and 11 rebounds to do the work for KK.
On day four, President's
College (A) trumped Marian Academy 74-3 points with a game high 18 points from Akeelah Campbell. President's College B also
took a one-point victory over The Bishops’ high 13-12. The 17th edition of the National School Basketball Festival is sponsored by
Benjamin of
scoring against President’s College B team
B. Beharry Ltd, G-Boats GY, and KFC Guyana and continues with the semi-final round later today with the finals on Sunday.
IN May, twenty-four female teams and thirty-two male sides began their journey to lift the coveted ExxonMobil U-14 football championships.
This afternoon the two teams each in the male and female divisions will have the final hurdle to climb to accomplish that goal and cash in on big rewards for their schools.
In the girls’ competition, President’s College will
seek to overcome defending champions, Waramuri top at 16:00 hours.
They will need to up their goal tally as Waramuri has been prolific on the offensive end with some high scoring wins. They have however shown some weakness on the defensive end and this is where PC will have to make sure to be calculated.
The girls’ finals will be played on the heels of their third-place contest set for
14:00 hours featuring Bartica and Santa Rosa.
The boys’ final will conclude the tournament and that game will pit Chase Academy, one of the most successful football schools against one of the most consistent school teams in years, Dolphin secondary.
Chase who had a major scare against Leonora Secondary in the semis will be hoping to stop Dolphin early and close it out against a
historically dangerous side in finals.
Prior to the boys’ finals
South Ruimveldt will meet Leonora secondary in the third-place game.
South Ruimveldt had been playing well in the competition before being hard done in the semi-final and they will diffidently aim to finish the fifth edition of the tournament strong with a third-place trophy and accompanying accolades.
The tournament started with 56 teams in total from regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10.
The winning teams are vying for $400,000 in each division for their schools which will go towards projects.
The second place will collect $200,000 and third place $100,000.
This year the organisers will also provide school supplies year-long for the male
and female Most Valuable Players.
Last year, the Boys from Bartica and the girls from Waramuri Top won the tournaments.
The tournament is sponsored by ExxonMobil, Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs with support from Stena Drilling, Pepsi, MVP Sports and the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports
Alick Athanaze made an unbeaten half-century•Jul 05, 2024•George Halfhide/Cricket West Indies
