Kaieteur News

Gaza residents K NEWS surviving off animal feed as food dwindles

Sunday Edition

AIETEUR

February 11, 2024

Online: www.kaieteurnews.com

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Exxon leaving Equatorial

Guinea in shambles to focus on emptying Guyana’s oil Exxon to drain almost a third of Liza, Payara fields by year-end (Photo by Vindra Gopaul-Boodan)

Man dies following boat collision at Moruca

Boy, 7, injured after house

falls on him

Tobago coasts in danger ...House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary after oil spill says “Tobago was never ready for this”

By foregoing oil profits, Exxon admits Guyana is a co-investor in Stabroek Block

Man caught after stripping stolen car in Buxton Jagdeo defends spending billions on failing sugar industry but refuses to raise teacher's salaries

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Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

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ExxonMobil leaving Equatorial Guinea in shambles to focus on emptying Guyana’s oil In a revelation of priorities, ExxonMobil, the American oil giant, has announced its intention to wind down operations in Equatorial Guinea, bringing a close to a chapter spanning nearly three decades. The company said the main pull factor is Guyana’s lucrative oil fields.

David Goldwyn, an international analyst, recently highlighted the oil discoveries in Guyana’s Stabroek Block as one of the “giants” of the decade, painting a picture of the country’s significance as a “hotspot” for the oil industry with its 11 billion barrels of oil-equivalent reserves.

This pivot away from Equatorial Guinea, once dubbed the fastest-growing economy on Earth just like Guyana, reveals key lessons a b o u t E x x o n M o b i l ’s relentless pursuit of maximizing value for its shareholders, even at the expense of the prosperity of its host countries.

A grim picture of Equatorial Guinea is left in ExxonMobil’s aftermath.

The ExxonMobil-operated Stabroek Block

The country, once buoyed by the discovery of oil in the 1990s that propelled it to become the third-largest oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa, now grapples with the debilitating effects of the resource curse.

This phenomenon, where countries rich in natural resources end up worse off, is starkly evident in Equatorial Guinea.

Despite its oil wealth, the United Nations reports from 2019 to 2023 highlight a nation where less than half of the population has access to clean drinking water and 20% of children die before reaching the age of five, with the majority living on US$2 a day.

The only development that has been taking place is within the bank accounts of

Guyana forfeited US$256M in January by not renegotiating Stabroek Block 2% royalty to 10% Guyana has once again lost out on revenues for its people by not renegotiating the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA).

In January, the Natural Resource Fund received a sum of US$137 million from both royalties and profit oil revenues.

This amount included a royalty payment totaling approximately US$64 million, with expectations set for a similar sum to be disbursed in the next quarter. The royalties, paid by the co-venturers of the Stabroek Block, equate to 2% of the crude’s market value, with yearly royalty income of US$320 million anticipated for Guyana.

However, there is a prevailing discourse advocating for a renegotiation of the royalty rate with Exxon, Hess and CNOOC. Guyanese activists argue for an increase to a 10% royalty rate, on grounds it would more accurately reflect the value of Guyana’s natural resources and honour the nation’s sovereignty over these assets. Government officials, however, have resisted such changes.

Under the current 2% royalty, Guyana projects to earn US$320 million for 2024, whereas a 10% rate would secure an estimated US$1.6 billion, signifying a forfeited opportunity of approximately US$1.3 billion in additional oil revenue for the year. For the January payment alone, the loss amounts to US$256 million.

Additionally, the NRF reported earnings of roughly US$73.57 million from sales, attributed to a December transaction

involving approximately one million barrels of crude. This transaction is part of a larger forecast that predicts a total of US$2.1 billion in profit oil revenues throughout 2024.

The NRFs financial health was further augmented by interest income, totaling about US$10 million, leading to a balance of US$2.12 billion by January 31, 2024.

This fiscal status quo is shaped by government’s contractual agreement with ExxonMobil, which includes a rigid stability clause enacted under the previous administration.

This clause, coupled with the absence of ring-fencing provisions, is believed to contribute to revenue losses, as it hampers the government’s ability to renegotiate more favourable terms.

Despite the potential for immediate financial gains through renegotiation, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has expressed concerns that such actions could deter longterm investments in the country’s oil sector.

Moving forward, the PSA will see Guyana continuing to get a small minority of the value from oil production this year. Out of oil exports expected to total US$16.8 billion in 2024, Guyana will get a direct benefit of US$2.1 billion.

This financial outlook is underpinned by the operations of three offshore projects in the Stabroek Block, which, through the deployment of floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels, have a combined production of 650,000 barrels per day.

selected members of the Government which is led by President Teodoro Obiang.

While the people suffer and swim in the slums of poverty, the members of the Government live lavish lifestyles.

An exclusive report by US award winning journalist, Rachael Maddow noted that one of the President’s sons, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, enjoyed a rather lavish lifestyle on the oil revenue that was supposed to go to w ar d s h is co u n tr y ’s Treasury.

With monies intended for the state, he bought himself a luxurious US$30M mansion in Malibu, California, some of the world’s finest and rarest

sports vehicles such as Lamborghinis and Ferraris.

He even bought some of the world’s most expensive Michael Jackson memorabilia such as statues of the pop icon. (See link to f u l l v i d e o : https://www.msnbc.com/ra c h e l maddow/watch/exxonmobi l-exploits-poor-nation-scorruption-for-oil-inafrica-853945411885) With the resource curse taking firm root in Equatorial Guinea President, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, and his family have been the focal point of scandals and investigations r e v e a l i n g t h e misappropriation of oil revenues, even at times facilitated by agents of Exxon.

This was examined in an American Senate SubCommittee investigation in 2017, during Rex Tillerson’s tenure as ExxonMobil’s CEO, which uncovered payments diverted to private accounts controlled by President Obiang’s family, rather than the country’s National Treasury.

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest report from January 2024 paints a bleak future for Equatorial Guinea, forecasting a recession in 2023 and a continuous economic contraction.

The report stresses the need for policy reforms to avoid the full unraveling of

gains in per capita income over the last two decades.

ExxonMobil shifting attention to Guyana indeed signifies its unyielding drive to exploit new opportunities for shareholder value maximization.

With plans to bring six projects online to elevate national output to 1.3 million barrels per day by 2027, ExxonMobil’s operations in Guyana are poised for expansion, with the full support of the Irfaan Ali administration.

However, this aggressive pursuit raises concerns about the potential for repeating patterns of exploitation and neglect experienced in Equatorial Guinea.

Certainly, though the situations in Guyana and Equatorial Guinea are very d i ff e r e n t , t h e A f r i c a n country’s experiences can be instrumental. The starkest lesson may be that the experience of Equatorial Guinea does not agree with Exxon’s repeated claims that it cares for the prosperity of its host country.

ExxonMobil’s departure from Equatorial Guinea, leaving it in a state of economic and social disrepair, coupled with its fervent focus on Guyana, starkly illustrates the company’s most important purpose: maximizing value for its shareholders, often disregarding the long-term prosperity of its host countries.

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

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Publisher: DR. GLENN LALL - TEL: 624-6456 Editor-In-Chief: NIGEL WILLIAMS Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

Oil Money Guyanese are trapped on the horns of a dilemma. On one horn, it is the devil, on the other, it is the disciples of the devil. The devil is Venezuela and its roving eye, the disciples of the devil are most of those in the PPPC Government. Venezuela wants land and anyhow it can latch onto it, as it bides its time. The operators in the PPPC Government want their hands on money, and as much as they can get of it, in the shortest possible time, with the easiest effort. The Guyana Natural Resource Fund (NRF) looms large, and it represents an irresistible money tree that just has to be shaken and plucked, shaken and plucked.

Like reckless schoolboys, there are those in the government who gouge and strip, denude and deplete the money tree that is the NRF of Guyana.

The now completed debates on the 2024 budget should stand as confirmation of the steamy devil’s workshop that parliament has become. It is where twisted visions are set in motion and all the plans are given the required clearances to proceed full speed ahead. A one-seat majority makes all things possible. Debate as powerfully as wished, and as long as the stamina (or the Speaker) allows, but the outcome is still the same. The connivers in the PPPC Government are in heaven, which could mean hell for poor and powerless Guyanese, should oil prices head downward. When it does in one of its usual periodic cycles, it has mostly been for an extended period.

It is the essence of good sense, therefore, to go slow, play it safe with the people’s NRF. After all, it is not the government’s money (safety net), but that of the people.

The leaders in the government, be he President Ali or Minister Singh, with Vice President Jagdeo creatively using the shadows as cover, are not the owners of the money in the NRF, through some special bequest that is unknown to all others. They are the overseers and stewards, and in their hands, through their actions with it, they must represent what is prudent. Only the prudent, and in the expressions of it in the management of the NRF. Withdrawals from the NRF should be in reasonable amounts, and not what is aggressive and borders on the dangerous. What the PPPC Government just gave itself the power to do with the NRF (withdraw) is nothing but high irresponsibility, and clearly dangerous. Giving oneselfa parliamentary cloak to clean out much of the NRF money is not prudence in action, nor sensible leadership with this precious patrimony. All projects do not have to be today, or in one go. All spending does not have to be as though it is carnival or Christmas. Some things can wait, others can be spaced out. When there is no listening, and there is brushing aside of helpful counsel, a long and bitter hangover is in the cards. It is part of the curse that comes with oil: frolic and play the fool today, get ready to pay heavily and unbearably tomorrow. Splurge thoughtlessly (and crookedly) in the present, and live with grim regrets later.

Other countries with oil have the hard, bitter, tales to tell. Almost without exception they are about what went wrong, when the pride and perverseness in some men propelled then towards executing what is wrong. Leaders have been repeatedly urged to think of the people first, and not of their pocketsalready overflowing, but still demanding more refills. The addiction of the PPPC Government to the NRF money is just one part of Guyanese dilemma. There is that other addiction that makes helpless cripples of this government: more borrowing. It is a set of schemers and hustlers in the PPPC Government drawing down on the NRF millions, and pushing up the debt ceiling to borrow more millions.

The discipline, the required depth of basic commonsense, is nowhere to be seen in those piloting this nation to some place, hopefully forward. Their visions are breathtaking: break the bank (NRF), and build the debt burdens. In each instance, Guyanese are exposed and endangered. Oil prices sink, and the people of this country also sink.

Sunday February 11, 2024

Kaieteur M@ilbox Send your letters to Kaieteur News, 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com

Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) looking bad with revelations of lack of accountability for audited accounts DEAR EDITOR, The teachers’ strike might end up being a blessing in disguise that can catapult us into massive school reforms, given the revelations coming out.

I support collective bargaining to the hilt and believe all agreements must be honoured. I believe all university graduates who are teachers should be able to own a duty-free car. Any society that can afford it should make sure that teachers’ pay and benefits, and all workers for that matter, should be able to live

in comfort and dignity. But, I also believe in strong accountability for teachers, for Ministries, for parents and students.

Revelations that the GTU has not submitted financial statements and audited statements for decades makes them look very bad. How come all those teachers marching in the streets did not hold their own union accountable?

They think the Government should be accountable because it’s three years since their agreement was signed.

It’s almost three decades

and the GTU has not been accountable and transparent for their stewardship with funds and reports. We await the GTU’s explanations.

Under the rules, unions are required to submit a “general statement of the receipts, funds, effects, and expenditure to the Registrar before the 1st May in every year and shall show fully its assets and liabilities at the date…” Audited accounts must be submitted too.

S o , i t ’s k i n d o f hypocritical to make the Government look bad by resorting to a strike, when

apparently the due process and protocols that have to be followed before strike action, have not been followed. The strike action surprised me because the Government just gave the teachers some good raises and benefits that others did not get. If you converted the $25,000 bonus to a percentage that would have made the salary increase larger than 6.5%. If you converted the in-range adjustments for graduate teachers, it sends up the percentage of increase even (Continued on page 06)

Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

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Kaieteur M@ilbox Kaieteur M@ilbox Teachers are protesting for their Share price volatility on GSE could be matter of supply and demand rightful share of Guyana’s wealth; aD simple cycle is a consideration. A conditions remain the same.

E , Interestingly though, one few years ago, DIH (and While I am not a ‘stock other Guyanese should join them market expert’ nor au fait can observe that the share other large companies) EAR

DEAR EDITOR, Having been a teacher in the past, I am very proud of the teachers taking to the streets demanding their rightful share of Guyana’s wealth, Guyanese if you know what’s good for you all, you should join them.

ExxonMobil declared record profits for 2023, and British Petroleum (BP) declared their 2023 earnings beat their own profit estimates, this is how the foreign companies operating in Guyana speak to their shareholders and stakeholders, using words like “record profits”,” unprecedented earnings”, “estimate beating gains” etc.

The spokespeople of these foreign companies also tell their shareholders and stakeholders that Guyana is where their financial dreams come through, after all, they can take all the wealth they want, declare whatever they like, pay no import or export duties, pay no taxes, provide no insurance liability or follow no environmental regulations. The Executive staff of these companies has also been rewarded with record bonuses and salary increases since coming to Guyana.

Teachers and other lowincome Guyanese on the other hand get the experience the nightmare of Guyana’s exploitation along with a high cost of living since the wages they receive cannot fill their teeth holes.

Someone in Guyana had to take to the streets eventually; it is now the teachers, good on them, those with basic economics knowledge should know that with the current way economics is being managed in Guyana, the price being paid for a slice of pumpkin soon won’t be able to buy the skin of the pumpkin.

The government is taking on record debt on future revenues, so the future revenue is already tied to

debt servicing rather than spending on Guyanese issues, this will cause the GUY$ to devalue creating an even higher cost of living that is currently being experienced by Guyanese.

This current borrowing against future revenue practice will lead to stagflation where inflation will increase while wages and the GUY$’s value will be outpaced by the inflation.

This also gives the oil companies a stranglehold on Guyana, where they can threaten to cut production leaving Guyana powerless, Guyana’s remedies to this can begin with collecting back its 20% of the Stabroek Block. Someone should also explain why since independence every Guyanese are not millionaires by now based on the annual budgets that are prepared for government spending for this small population.

The President and VP seem to like Ghana very much, that’s why Guyana is being run like Ghana, the sellout Ghanian leaders allowed the oil companies to run havoc with Ghana’s oil, and the minute few Ghanian sellouts live in palaces with servants or living in foreign countries, Ghana leveraged it’s oil money on debt to build large infrastructure projects where those involved in contracts got rich overnight while the majority of the population continue to live in squalor, the debt devalued Ghana’s currency, now you need four bags of money to buy one bag of food in Ghana, see any similarities in Guyana with the Gas to Shore Plant and the recent budget?

ExxonMobil is bringing more FPSOs to Guyana’s oil fields boasting how these FPSOs are more technological with more capacity, meaning they will pump and take away more oil in shorter periods while

Guyanese children go to school with empty lunch kits, and the teachers don’t fare any better.

The PPP die-hards are now saying, how dare these teachers protest against the high cost of living? This tool should only be used against PNC governments. Some complain they took their children to school but there were no teachers to look after them, are these parents morons not to understand there is a teachers’ strike ongoing? Some are saying this strike will affect students as if the activities of the foreign companies operating in Guyana won’t affect the students.

The opposition has now spoken, now they and the government will go into titfor-tat attacks of who are the better economists, yet nothing will be said about taxing foreign companies, no more royalties, no ringfencing, no oil meters, no auditing of Exxon’s bills, no insurance protection, and no relinquishment of the Stabroek Oil Blocks, as ExxonMobil continues to be the forbidden name they can’t mention. This Jumbie economic monster Bharrat Jagdeo and Ashni Singh have unleashed on Guyanese will be coming for all of you one by one, teachers, public servants, pensioners, squatters, farmers, sugar workers, and all Guyanese.

It’s time all Guyanese join the teachers to create a bigger wall to stop the economic monster you all will be facing.

The writing is clearly on the wall with the ongoing increase in the cost of living, this is evident that the oil companies will be pumping more oil, yet Bharrat Jagdeo says there will be no changes in the terms for the future oil projects. Instead, he will probably he run to Babujaan and Port Mourant to lambast Burnham and the PNC to (Continued on page 06)

DITOR

with the technicalities surrounding the local stock exchange in terms of company laws and trading regulations, I offer my humble opinion on share price fluctuations. I see the Guyana Stock Exchange (GSE) where persons can buy and sell shares of companies as being comparable to a local market for example, Mon Repos market to some degree, where the scarcity or abundance of a product determines the price. In other words, if due to poor weather conditions fewer pumpkins are harvested by farmers and hence, in short supply the vendors would be able to sell the product at a higher price providing that there are buyers or vice versa.

If one were to visit the G S E ’ s w e b s i t e (https://guyanastockexchan geinc.com) it can be observed that for the latest session the volume bid is far less than the volume offered for several major companies, and this has been the trend for months. In fact, the share prices for these companies have steadily declined. At face value, there are many sellers and few buyers or more shares available (in the thousands) than the quantities required by buyers. Furthermore, sellers often lower their prices to get their shares sold and this affects the overall share price, and a pattern follows if

price of some small companies that are financial midgets in the business arena trade at a higher price than well-established profitable conglomerates. I believe that frequency of trade and number of outstanding shares and shareholders influence this anomaly. For instance, if a big company on the GSE issued a billion shares that are held by thousands of shareholders ranging from blue-collar workers to corporate shareholders then it can be expected that the shares of this company would be available and traded frequently on the GSE. On the other hand, you have small companies that make less profit but maybe 50 million shares were issued and these are held by a few hundred shareholders with the majority choosing to hold on to their shares then with less frequent trading occurring the price of this company’s shares may go up because when it is available it is quickly bought at whatever price the seller wants.

A buyer might believe that since the shares of some small companies are not frequently traded the likelihood of the price increasing is greater in comparison to large companies with frequent trading occurring and a steady supply of shares. And of course, the stock market

shares were offered at a higher price. At the time, the volume offered was far less than what was desired, so the sellers were able to get what they wanted. However, if you check the website now you would see that 1,833,200 DIH shares are available whereas the volume desired is 2,100. On the other hand, 110,700 CBI shares are desired yet there is no listed offering hence, if someone were to offer some now, he/she would most likely get their shares sold at a price higher than what it was last traded for and consequently the share price increases.

While persons who buy and sell shares do look at a company’s history and profitability, they may not want to put all their eggs in one basket.

Investing in low and high-risk companies is a routine strategy, a diverse portfolio should spread the risk but at the end of the day there is still risk involved as with any business venture.

If one analysed the data regarding share price of the companies traded on the GSE you would realise that there has been a significant increase over the years for most if not all companies, the exceptions would be those that are less frequently traded (this information is available on the website for each company). If there is a sift soon and the supply (Continued on page 06)

Kaieteur News

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Sunday February 11, 2024

Gaza residents surviving off animal feed as food dwindles Pipes which carry water for Gaza’s 2.3m population have been damaged or destroyed (Reuters) BBC - People living in the isolated north of Gaza have told the BBC that children are going without food for days, as aid convoys are increasingly denied permits to enter. Some residents have resorted to grinding animal feed into flour to survive, but even stocks of those grains are now dwindling, they say.

People have also described digging down into the soil to access water pipes, for drinking and washing.

The UN has warned that acute malnutrition among young children in the north has risen sharply, and is now above the critical threshold o f 1 5 % . T h e U N ’s humanitarian coordination

agency, Ocha, says more than half the aid missions to the north of Gaza were denied access last month, and that there is increasing interference from Israeli forces in how and where aid is delivered.

It says 300,000 people estimated to be living in northern areas are largely cut off from assistance, and face a growing risk of famine.

A spokesman for the Israeli military agency tasked with coordinating aid access in Gaza said in a briefing last month that there was “no starvation in Gaza.

Period.” The agency, Cogat, has repeatedly said it does not limit the amount of humanitarian aid sent to

Gaza. Netanyahu orders military to plan evacuations from southern Gazan city Israeli soldier videos from Gaza could breach international law, experts say The BBC spoke to three people living in Gaza City and Beit Lahia, and viewed footage and interviews filmed by local journalists in Jabalia.

Mahmoud Shalabi, a local medical aid worker in Beit Lahia, said people had been grinding grains used for animal feed into flour, but that even that was now running out. “People are not finding it in the market,” he said. “It’s unavailable nowadays in the north of Gaza, and Gaza City.”

He also said stocks of tinned food were disappearing.

“What we had was actually from the six or seven days of truce [in November], and whatever aid was allowed into the north of Gaza has actually been consumed by now.

What people are eating right now is basically rice, and only rice.” The World Food Programme (WFP) told the BBC this week that four out of the last five aid convoys into the north had been stopped by Israeli forces, meaning a gap of two weeks between deliveries to Gaza City.

‘Serious risk of famine’ “We know there is a very serious risk of famine in Gaza if we don’t provide very significant volumes of food assistance on a regular basis,” said the WFP regional chief, Matt Hollingworth. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said there had been a sharp increase in the number of aid missions denied access to northern Gaza:

with 56% of deliveries denied access in January, up from 14% in October to December.

It also said the Israeli military “at times required justifications” for quantities of fuel destined for health facilities, and “imposed reductions on the volume of assistance, such as the quantity of food”.

The BBC asked Israel’s army for a response. They directed us to Cogat, which told us to address our questions to the army.

Duha al-Khalidi, a mother of four in Beit Lahia, told the BBC two weeks ago that she walked six miles (9.5km) to her sister’s house in Gaza City, in a desperate search for food, after her children had not eaten for three days.

“I don’t have any money, and even if I did, there’s nothing in the town’s main market,” she said. “[My sister] and her family are also suffering. She shared with me the last amount of pasta in her house.”

“We feel that death has become inevitable,” her

sister, Waad, said. “We lost the top floor of our house, but we are still living here despite the fear of collapse.

For two weeks, we can’t find anything in the market; and if some products are available, they are 10 times their normal price.”

A famine risk assessment, carried out by several UN agencies, estimated that almost a third of residents in northern areas could now be facing a “catastrophic” lack of food, though restrictions on accessing the area make realtime measurements very difficult.

Families in northern areas are also struggling to find reliable water supplies.

“Many of us are now drinking unpotable water.

There are no pipes; we have to dig for water,” explained Mahmoud Salah in Beit Lahia.

Video filmed in the Jabalia neighbourhood north of Gaza City shows residents sitting among the rubble of bombed out streets, digging down into the earth to tap (Continued on page 72)

Guyana Teachers Union (GTU)... Share price volatility on GSE could...

From page 4 higher. Free scholarships are available to teachers to improve their qualifications.

I think the union has erred in not acknowledging the good faith efforts of the Government, and discussions going on to address the remaining items in the agreement.

More shocking is the VP’s revelation that the absenteeism rate among teachers is almost 30%. I understand that lateness of teachers and students is a big problem too.

This is simply unacceptable, and parents and students should not be

silent about this. If teachers are not present at school, there is probably little or no instruction going on. (In these modern times, some teachers still have students copying notes from the blackboard and textbooks, as if that is “teaching.”).

Guyana does not have a formal program of “substitute teachers” as in the USA. If teachers are absent and late so much it affects the coverage of the curriculum and therefore student performance at the NGSA and CSEC exams would suffer. There are many factors that contribute to

high student achievement.

However, “teacher quality” is the most highly correlated factor that leads to high student achievement.

So, we need to be asking why 40% of our students do badly at the NGSA, and why do so many students not pass five or more subjects? As a nation, how do we move past this unacceptable student performance? How can we improve teacher accountability while we get the Government to do its part? It’s not a one-way street.

Sincerely, Dr. Jerry Jailall Civil Society Advocate

From page 5 becomes less than the demand for any share including DIH then the price goes up and this could signal the start of a bull run.

Furthermore, brokers do give shareholders the option of reinvesting their dividends which implies that the very small sums one receives can be used to buy a few shares (by the broker) which in turn would affect the overall share price of the company when the trade is executed.

Also, if there is an abundance of shares of particular companies on the market due to whatever

reason (funds needed, a major shareholder dies and there is a selloff of his/her shares, reports that the company may not be doing so well etc) then investors may hold off buying with the expectation that the price drops further or they may invest in other companies’ shares or ventures.

Right now, the shares prices of major companies on the GSE have dropped from last year and for all these companies what y ou see at face value is excess supply of offered shares.

Why is there such a major ‘all round’ sell off with few buyers?

Bear market, lack of disposable income, state of the economy, diversion of funds into other ventures etc?

Editor, this is my lay p ers on an alys is o f what is occurring with the share price of major and minor companies on the GSE. I am not privy to the operation of the GSE or am thinking of insider trading as it relates to the price fluctuations although this and other reasons could be present but o n the surface what I

see is a matter of supply and demand or as Jim Cramer said: ‘Every once in a while, the market does something so stupid it takes your breath away.’

Perhaps the ordinary Guyanese investors who buy shares are not so ‘financially sophisticated or conservative’ as to analyse financial reports and other documents of the companies they invest in, these risk takers just buy, and this causes fluctuations with the share price.

Is this the usual way other stock exchanges operate?

Possibly, the GSE is not operating like others, but it is not doing anything wrong still because of a bear market scenario (normal occurrence caused by external factors).

If it’s a case where there is a need for improvement in terms of operation and control over price fluctuations if required then the specific problems should be identified, solutions offered and a course of action on how the solutions can be implemented explored.

Yours sincerely, Narissa Deokarran

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L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Sunday February 11, 2024

Kaieteur News

The games being played by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and by extension the Government of Guyana (GoG) has set a dangerous precedent for the foreign oil companies in Guyana.

As though the country is not already in a calamitous position with the World’s worst oil deal, the government is now playing games with protecting this country from an oil spill.

It is not only spending Guyanese tax dollars to fight against full protection from such a catastrophic activity, but is now hiding a limited US$2-billion guarantee that has been ordered by the Court to protect this nation.

This begs the question as to whether this guarantee is really in place.

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Sunday February 11, 2024

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The union’s demands are unrealistic

W

e can hardly t a k e ourselves seriously; much less ask the government to do so. Take the case of the present strike by the teachers. Watching the teachers on the picket line and hearing their chants, leaves one with no better an understanding as to just what is the strike is about.

The teachers do not appear to know specifically what they are demanding.

They know they want higher salaries. If you are on the picket line, you must know specifically what it is you are striking for. But none of the teachers so far have articulated specifically just what specifically is being demanded of the government. Perhaps they do not know.

The teachers feel that this strike is about increasing their pay. If teachers understood the ridiculous increases that their union is demanding, they would return to their classrooms immediately.

The union’s demands are unrealistic. The union is asking for increases dating back to 2019. The union wants an across-the-board increase in salary for 2019, and 20 percent for every other year (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023) to be granted to

all categories of teachers\teacher educators for the years 2019-2023.

The union therefore is virtually asking for teachers’ salaries to increase by almost 150%. This would take a trained teacher’s salary to around $450,000 per month.

But the lack of realism does not end with wages.

According to a report in D e m e r a r a Wa v e s o f November 23rd 2023, the union is also asking for a performance-based incentive of two percent annually of the total teachers’ wage bill for all eligible teachers; a monthly emotional/stress/risk allowance of $5,000, a monthly internet allowance for GY$10,000; GY$10,000 to all teachers who use their motor vehicles, boats and motor cycles to attend workshops, orientation sessions, emergencies at school, to uplift grants, pay sheets and/or are travelling for the conduct of Teaching Practice organized by the Cyril Potter College of Education; and monthly allowance of GY$7,000 to conduct business on behalf of their institutions.

No wonder the government is not taking the u n i o n s e r i o u s l y. A n y government which accedes to these demands is opening a Pandora’s Box from which

there is no return.

All other public sector workers are going to demand commensurate increases and this will upend the country’s Budget and throw the economy into a whirlwind crisis. The government cannot afford to pay such increases to teachers much less to extend it to others.

Acceding to the demands on the table will also lead others to demand high increases. Your maid in your home may feel entitled to $300,000 per month. And the boy who comes to wash your car may demand $10,000 for the job. Retroactive increases should be pulled off the table. That ship has sailed a long time ago. If the union was serious about increases for the period 2019 to 2022, it should have called the strike years ago.

It is also unreasonable to demand such high increases for the pandemic years.

Economies around the world were in contraction and there is no way that a 20% increase for 2020 and 2021 could be justified. Last year, the government offered a stingy 6.5% and then claimed that inflation was 2%. Now that is enough to infuriate workers. But as much as teachers and other public sector workers will feel shortchanged by the 6.5%, a

Teachers are protesting for their...

From page 05 keep his herd in line, I don’t know how long these people will continue to be played like this.

So, continue the strike teachers, and fight for your rightful share of Guyana’s wealth, if you don’t get a resolution from the

government, maybe you should take the protest to Exxon’s headquarters, after all, Exxon is running the country, and who knows? you might even get your well-deserved money.

R. David.

DEM BOYS SEH

Wake House is nat de same anymore!

When was the last time that y’all went to a wake house and was served dry biscuit and black coffee?

Some of de younger generation nah know about dat!

Lang ago, de dry biscuit and black coffee used to keep yuh awake all night.

Wake used to last till cock crow. And people play cards and dominoes all night. Some people nah had choice. Dem never used to get transportation fuh go home so dem had to wait till sun come up before dem go pun de road fuh catch a car.

De biscuit and coffee used to serve it purpose.

Don’t try serving dat nowadays. Yuh gan get bad name and yuh dead family nah gan rest in peace because of all de bad mouth.

Nowadays yuh gat to come good. Yuh gat to serve food, plenty snacks, expensive snacks, including polourie and cake and channa and drinks. And pun de last night of de wake, yuh gat to mek a sumptuous meal, with friend rice and cook up and loud chicken.

Dat is why people now does only a hold a few nights wake. Dem can’t afford de cost of de food and de snacks. And to mek things worse deh gat people does go to wake house without eating and when dem arrive dem want dem belly-full of meals… and box fuh carry home too.

No wonder poor people praying for dem loved ones not to die. It costing more fuh keep de wake than fuh bury de dead. Wake now come big party, without de dancing.

Talk half. Leff half

20% increase may be asking too much. It is normal but not prudent to aim high in your demands and then settle for less. But it does cause problems when you demand 20% and then settle for single-digit figures. This is why it is advisable for unions to be realistic in their demands The President is asking for patience. But admittedly, the people’s patience has long run out.

The job evaluation exercise which is supposed to take place this year should have taken place a long time ago and therefore the people have a right to be impatient with the government’s intransigence when it comes to wage increase.

But teachers must also

appreciate that they are likely to be affected by this exercise. By now all untrained teachers should have been sent packing. We cannot be serious about having a world-class education system and still be persisting with untrained teachers in the system.

There can be no place for untrained teachers in education.

Even if it means temporarily rehiring retired teachers, this should be done immediately to allow for untrained teachers to immediately exit the system, except for those who are in training. We can no longer afford to have a situation in which persons with 3 CXC are teaching our children.

In is time for the GTU to reassess its demands.

And it is high time for those on the picket line to be chanting a realistic percentage increase rather than simply claiming that they want more pay.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

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UTH

D TR

HAR

HK

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LAL

Sunday Monday February May 02, 11,2022 2024

H@RD TRUTHS

BY GHK LALL

Darren Woods on a tear, Bharrat Jagdeo shedding tears Take a listen to Exxon's CEO, Mr. Darren Woods: US$9.7B in “structural cost savings”. Whatever that is, and however it is dressed up, a piece of that multibilliondollar saving was torn out of Guyana's hamstring. More from Mr. Woods: “no other company can match the depth and breadth of development opportunities that Exxon offers.”

That's telling the world, boss, and it is no exaggeration. Development opportunities include new business ventures, but Guyana and Permian oil is where the steak and gravy are for Exxon. Other Exxon

businesses contribute to the company's profitability, but it is Guyana's fabled Stabroek Block oil output-flea market cheap, name brand designer quality, and close to marketis what makes its profit needle move. Guyana's oil does not just make Exxon's profit needle move, it makes it dance and shimmy with lush economic artistry.

Rudolf Nureyev would have turned green with jealousy.

Chief Executive Woods opens his mouth, and he speaks in the language of an assayer, a goldsmith, a bubbling diamond magnate, when it is Guyana's oil

involved. Gem and jewel and nugget and of the kind and quantity that weighed down the crown on Queens Victoria and Elizabeth II heads.

Exxon's crown jewels are not from India or Africa, they are from Guyana. If I were Darren Woods, I would stop managing and strategizing, and take up the full-time job of pronouncing with bewitching pearls of syntactical adornments about the unmatched allure of Guyana's oil. And how much it means to Exxon. Also, so t h a t n o n e f o rg e t s t h e residential and commercial boilers of Europe in this lean

time of traditional supplies. I exhort my fellow Guyanese to observe and absorb how the cup of CEO Woodsoverflows with the grandeur of Guyana's oil wealth.

I would have demanded the immediate tripling of my compensation package; alright, aw right, let's not get carried away and get greedy, double would be just as wellreceived.

Now for the polar opposite to Mr. Woods. I present Guyana's chief prognosticator, vacillator, and dithering dissembler.

Plus a scheming designer on its oil patrimony, Daktah Bhaar-raat Jagdeo. Whereas Mr. Woods is soaring into the stratosphere, Guyana's Jagdeo smartly descends into the dumps. When Darren Woods is prolific with rich text on Guyana's oil, Bharrat Jagdeo is busy with his tortured subtexts, and subterranean pretexts.

Now it is time to listen, and grab hold of Jagdeo on Guyana's oil, and who it should mean much for, and which should be guaranteed.

Jagdeo has spoken mouthful after mouthful about the primacy of investors and their right to a return. No arguments from this side of the street.

But his prioritizing investors is the identical constituency that is so dear to Darren Woods' heart. Where is the room, the paramountcy of place, for the Guyanese people, the preferred shareholders of this

oil asset? When it is not investors' rights and their nervousness, it is sanctity of contract.

Sanctity for Exxon, of course, even if it means surrendering national sovereignty, the complete collapse of governmental power, and throwing the entire Guyanese population under an express bus.

Jagdeo, a man of no mean learning (and distinguished by meaner spirits), is the rabbi overseeing rapid fire approval of new oil projects for Exxon now, but steering Guyanese to the future. He has Guyanese on a 25-year fixed deposit CD. They get to cash in later on from their patrimony.

Woods highlights the here and now, then tomorrow for his people, while Jagdeo points Guyanese to some distant, undefined, mysterious future.

Max money then: the challenge is to get from now to then. The latest from Boss Jagdeo is the volatility of the commodity prices, with none matching oil for turbulence and whiplash effect. He is now a savvy oil trader dealing with a fleet of tankers, and insisting upon circumspection with pay raises. Darren Woods is on a t e a r, B h a r r a t J a g d e o shedding tears.

When I think of the kind of leader that Jagdeo has distorted himself into, I behold a man now a fullblown oil caricature, an oil cartoon of grotesque strokes.

On each occasion that the call is for more for Guyanese, he comes up with a new dodge.

The latest is oil price volatility, as though he has suddenly discovered the secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls. What next is he going to come up with on this enormous oil wealth to deny Guyanese?

Global warming? Pending Exxon lawsuits all over the place?

Study Jagdeo closely and appreciate how he has handcuffed himself. He talks like a PowerPoint, operates at boiling point, sticks dissenters with a ballpoint, and traps himself in a chokepoint. He could split the hair on a fish, as fabricated. Or, better still; split a single eyelash without making the person blink.

There was a British TV series called Black Mirror.

It required a British Prime Minister to have sex with a pig in public.

If not, his ratings would drop. He did. The point is that Jagdeo would do anything to keep in the good b o o k s o f Wo o d s a n d Routledge, even if it means coming up with hair brained to evade his leadership duty to the Guyanese people. I suspect that Darren Woods has locked in a Superbowl spot: Go to Guyana: Jagdeo is the sweetest for investors.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

Tree falls, kills pensioner at Moruca A 77-year-old man died between Tuesday and Wednesday after a tree fell on him as he cut 'vines' at the savannah at Kamwatta, Moruca in Region One. Dead is Malcom Bumber.

Reports are that Bumber left his home on Tuesday morning around 10:00hrs to cut 'vines' for handicraft at the savannah area. After the man failed to return home that day, a councilor of the village reported to police that the man was missing.

A search commenced for Bumber and around 07:40hrs on Wednesday he was found lying motionless under a huge tree.

The incident occurred some 10 miles

away from the village.

The man's son Winston Bumber told police that his father left home alone on Tuesday with a cutlass in hand to cut the vines which are used to make handcrafted items.

Another resident noted that while searching for the elderly man, he saw a large tree which appeared to have recently fallen. He became suspicious and checked around the said tree where he saw the victim lying motionless, pinned underneath.

The man had his black backpack on his person when he was found.

The body was taken to the Kumaka District Hospital Mortuary at Santa Rosa awaiting postmortem examination.

Sunday February 11, 2024

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WEEK- IN- REVIEW SUNDAY With Guyana’s premium oil, other global assets no other company can match us – Exxon CEO …boasts of being record setter with this country’s operations With Guyana’s premium oil assets, and other notable projects in its portfolio, ExxonMobil Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman, Darren Woods recently boasted that “no other company can match the depth and breadth of development opportunities” his company offers.

The CEO made this comment, among others, last Friday during Exxon’s 2023 fourth quarter earnings call.

During that engagement with shareholders, Woods boasted that the company finished the quarter with US$7.6Billion in profits.

Overall, he said the company made an astounding US$36B for 2023. On that premise he said, “The results are clear.

By any measure, 2023 was an outstanding year. We delivered strong cash flows, and a 15% return on capital employed. Today, we’re convinced that no other company can match the depth and breadth of development opportunities that ExxonMobil offers.”

In Exxon’s Upstream business, he boasted once again that his company is a record setter with both Guyana and the Permian growing combined volumes by more than 18% in 2023.

He told shareholders that Guyana’s third oil project, Payara, which uses the Prosperity floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel reached nameplate capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil per day in mid-January. He said this is well ahead of the schedule that was initially planned and a testament to the company’s “excellence in execution.”

Wo o d s s a i d , “ O u r strategy, introduced in 2018, coupled with consistently strong execution, is delivering results that lead industry across a range of metrics, including earnings and cash flow growth, total shareholder distributions, and total shareholder returns since 2019, the baseline year

of our plans.”

On a constant-price basis, Woods said Exxon more than doubled earnings in 2023 versus 2019, demonstrating the improved earnings power of the company. He noted as well that the growth in profitability reflects significant progress in highgrading its portfolio of assets through advantaged projects, divestment of less strategic operations, and significant cost reductions.

Another key highlight for Woods was that Exxon was able to ensure US$9.7 billion of structural cost savings. He said this exceeds the company’s 2023 plan and gave it a jump start on plans to capture US$15 billion in savings by 2027.

Additionally, Woods said Exxon’s strong financial performance is creating exceptional value for shareholders. “We raised the dividend by 4.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023, marking our 41st consecutive year of annual dividend increases. In total, last year we returned more than US$32 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, leading peers,” said Woods. The CEO said these distributions helped deliver a 15% annualized total shareholder return since 2019, once again leading peers and outperforming the broader market. “Our plan for 2024 builds on this success,” he concluded.

Future Govts. will be left with the option of servicing debt or the people – Opposition says Future governments in this country will be faced with the grim reality of choosing between servicing its debt or servicing the needs of its people.

This is according to the Shadow Minister of Finance, Juretha Fernandes. She was at the time speaking at a joint press conference hosted by the A Partnership National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU/ AFC) on Saturday morning, where the Opposition registered its concerns over the new debt ceiling and withdrawal rules of the oil account.

On Friday evening, the government passed the Fiscal Enactments Amendment Bill No. 2 of 2024 that authorizes an increase in the country’s borrowing capacity as well as the amount that can be withdrawn from the Natural Resource Fund (NRF).

The Opposition boycotted the debates in the National Assembly, citing a security breach in the Opposition lounge.

Fernandes told journalists yesterday that the increase in withdrawals from the NRF means that there will not be resources left for the future. “It seems to me as though they intend to drain the NRF of every cent…its hard for us to comprehend the arguments that are coming out from the Finance Minister when he is saying that oh, sometime way in the future we gonna have some money left to save when they are consistently showing us every year they are also increasing the debt ceiling.”

Fernandes pointed out, “When you consistently increase the debt ceiling you are left with a choice in the future; future governments will be left with the choice as against do you service debt or do you service the people and these are the concerns we have.”

The Shadow Minister of Finance highlighted that servicing debt has taken precedence in many oil rich countries that fell prey to

borrowing against oil revenues. She pointed out the danger in this principle, noting that oil revenues will not flow forever, and can be cut off by various factors, such as a spill.

Fernandes explained that Guyana will then be left to rely on its poorly performing non-oil sectors to fund development in the country.

In fact, the Shadow Finance Minister said these resources may very well have to be directed to service this country’s ballooning debt rather than fund the needs of citizens.

During yesterday’s press briefing, Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton as well as Leader of the AFC, Khemraj Ramjattan and Members of Parliament (MPs) Shurwayne Holder, Roysdale Forde SC and Ganesh Mahipaul shared their views on the increasing debt burden to citizens and the shortening of saving from the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) or the NRF .

For his part, the Opposition Leader said the decision to overturn the NRF withdrawal rules have essentially abolished the fund altogether.

“If nearly every last cent that goes into a savings account can be withdrawn, it is as if there is no savings account at all. This is what the PPP is doing with a fund intended to insulate our economy from many of the ills faced by oil-rich countries,” Norton said.

Sunday February 11, 2024

He added that once in office, the APNU would reverse this practice of “plundering the fund” and replace this strategy with a “well-planned, flexible framework” that balances the nation’s development needs with its financial risks.

Norton was keen to note that oil is a highly volatile commodity which warrants strict consideration of the utilization of these resources. The Leader cautioned, “If there are minimal savings in our Natural Resource Fund and the price of oil falls, various development projects may have to be delayed, cut or otherwise reworked. This will not only result in financial losses, it will generate a climate of extreme instability in the local economy. Guyana’s economy will be in a constant state of flux, booming when the oil price is high and in a downturn w h e n e v e r i t i s l o w.

Businesses cannot plan in this environment, workers cannot be assured that they will be regularly employed and overall economic growth will suffer.”

Norton noted that International Financial E x p e r t , To m S a n z i l l o recently criticized Guyana’s NRF for lacking enough safeguards to prevent it from becoming a slush fund for t h e r u l i n g p a r t y. T h e Opposition Leader said, “This negative reputation may manifest as higher

interest rates the country must face for new debt, or alternatively a reluctance to lend, or lend as much, to Guyana.”

Turning his attention to the new debt ceiling, he reasoned that the PPP has failed to spend within its limits from the NRF which raises questions on its ability to manage the increasing national debt. He said, “Because there is no focus on governance reform, Guyana is expected to waste nearly as much as it borrows. This is the definition of chaos, and it is clear with each passing day we grow closer and closer to a natural resource curse.”

MONDAY No decision made yet to head to arbitration over US$214M audit dispute with Exxon – Min. Bharrat Three months after Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo suggested that the Government of Guyana (GoG) is preparing to head to arbitration in the US$214 million audit dispute with ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), following questionable costs flagged

by British auditor, IHSMarkit, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat last week disclosed that the government is yet to decide on whether to pursue arbitration.

During the Committee of Supply session last Wednesday, Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) David Patterson questioned Minister Bharrat about budgetary allocations for arbitration in this year’s budget.

Minister Bharrat responded, “A decision has not been made as yet with regards to whether it will go through, go to arbitration or not,” he added, “regardless, the allocation will not come through the Ministry of Natural Resources.”

Guyana’s first oil audit was conducted by IHSMarkit. The contract was awarded by the Coalition government in September 2019 for the company to review some US$1.6 billion in costs incurred by Exxon during the period 1999 to 2017. The British auditor flagged US$214 million in Exxon expenses. The first report was leaked rather than officially shared through (Continued on page 13)

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Sunday February 11, 2024

From page 12 government channels.

Following the leaked audit report, it was reported that the Ministry of Natural Resources engaged in an “unauthorized process” that saw the reduction of the questionable sum from US$214 million to US$11 million and then to US$3 million.

The Ministry was forced to conduct an investigation which found that one of its officials, Senior Petroleum Coordinator, Gopnauth Bobby Gossai, engaged Exxon in reducing the disputed sum. Government has since indicated that it will be adhering to the technical advice from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) regarding the audit.

The process of arbitration is required under the terms of the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with the Exxon consortium. Annex ‘C’ of the PSA at Section 1.5 (b) states “…In the event that an audit claim by the Minister is not settled to the Minister’s satisfaction by the C o n t r a c t o r ’s r e p l y a s provided for above, the Contractor shall be entitled to recover any disputed amounts pending final resolution of the claim…”

The agreement also states that Exxon can provide reasons justifying the costs, but government would have to head to international arbitration to reclaim these sums. Upon the resolution of the issue, Guyana would be repaid with interest, if the country is successful in its challenge.

However, all the legal fees incurred for both parties would be borne by the state.

Make Audit Report Public Moreover, MP Patterson also asked Minister Bharrat why the second audit report has not been released publicly.The minister stated, “We made it clear in a

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo statement that the Guyana Revenue Authority is the sole authority or the agency responsible for the audits.

That is, we made it clear in a statement before that and said that corrective actions are going to be taken with regards to what happened. And one of those corrective actions is to have the right body, which is the Guyana Revenue Authority, to deal with all audits. We are just the facilitator.” Moreover, the minister underscored that according to the 2016 PSA, GRA is responsible for the monitoring the audits of expenses.

The second audit contract was awarded by the current administration in May 2022 for a local consortium, VHE supported by an overseas company, to undertake a US$7.3 billion review of the oil company’s expenses racked up between 2018 and 2020. There has been public outcry since both audit reports, though handed over to government have not been shared publicly. The second report remains hidden from the public to date.

Jagdeo blames volatile oil prices for not increasing public servants’ wages by 50% but disregards concept while racking up debt Vice President, Bharrat

Jagdeo has blamed the volatile oil prices for government’s decision not to increase the wages and salaries of public servants by 50 percent; however, this concept seems distant from government’s thoughts as the country’s debt continue to climb.

This year, public debt is set to increase by another US$2.2B, up from US$4.5B at the end of 2023. This means that by year-end, the country will be saddled with a debt of about US$6.7B. It was Jagdeo at a press conference earlier this year that told reporter’s some 40% of this year’s $1.146 trillion Budget will be backed by loans.

The politician had defended the loans being taken by government, given the revenues to come in from the sector, ignoring the volatility of oil prices.

At his press engagement on Thursday however, the VP presented a case against increasing public servants’ wages by 50 percent, arguing that the Opposition’s call for workers to be paid more was merely a political gimmick.

The former Head-ofState pointed out that such a move could even bankrupt the economy. He said, “…they did in the past and they want to do it again by making these outrageous claims hoping that people

would hear 50% under APNU, I will vote for them.

Because its political season I’ll vote for them and when they get into office you get nothing or they just will bankrupt the economy.”

Jagdeo underscored the need to be careful in the fiscal planning process, as he noted, “You can’t speak about and lament the economy is getting more and more concentrated around oil revenue and that the future of oil revenue can be uncertain right because oil prices could collapse like they did in 2015 to under $30 a barrel.”

He continued, “Suddenly it collapsed from $120 to $30 a barrel and then (you) built out a recurrent expenditure that you cannot cut in such a situation because you are stuck with it and you build it out on this perception that you’d always have this money in the future. So and you can’t borrow for that purpose, for the purpose of paying wages and salaries because if you borrow for that after a time you will go back to what we had in the past.”

The Vice President argued that expanding recurrent expenditure cannot be done without considering the volatility of oil prices.

The Opposition has been clamouring for workers to be paid more due to the increase in revenue flows to the Natural Resource Fund (NRF), but Jagdeo believes the political group should inform the nation how this can be sustained. The VP said increases to the capital budget can easily manage such shocks, since a project can be slowed, stopped and even completed overtime, pointing out that this cannot be the same for recurrent expenses. He was also keen to note that public servants are now benefitting from $30B more than they did in

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2020.

While the VP has factored in the likelihood of a fall in oil prices to avoid paying more to the public servants in this country, government has seemingly turned a blind eye to the impacts such shocks can have on the economy as it continues to increase public debt.

Last year, government’s borrowing plunged the country 23% deeper into debt. Jagdeo at his January 18 press engagement this year at the Office of the President, while responding to a Kaieteur News article on the increasing debt pointed to the revenues expected to come in from the oil sector.

He reasoned, “Our future revenue, if we forecast based on oil production, even for the approved projects, and Whiptail which will be approved, if we only factor in production at those levels, at say current oil prices at the volumes that we expect to produce from those projects, the revenue for the state in the outer years- that is by maybe 2028/ 2030 we could be (receiving) US$5.7 to US$6B.” Jagdeo also pointed out that revenues for 2025 from the sector is forecast to be about US$2.6B, above the existing external debt of US$1.8B. TUESDAY ‘No backing down’ -Countrywide teachers strike paralyses school operations in most areas – Union vows to keep up strike action until concerns are addressed The Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) has warned that the ongoing strike action by teachers will be prolonged if their concerns continue to be ignored by the President Irfaan Ali

Teachers accross the country protesting poor working conditions, including low wages

Government.

The strike which commenced on Monday was marked by nationwide protest action with hundreds of teachers, GTU representatives, parents and other civil society members assembling outside their respective Regional Education Offices with placards, calling on the Government to engage the Union in the process of C o l l e c t i v e B a rg a i n i n g towards achieving better salaries and working conditions for teachers.

President of the GTU, Mark Lyte told Kaieteur News that the teachers are demonstrating their frustration through protest and industrial action. “When the ministry is ready to engage in collective bargaining, we are ready but our problem is that we have not seen any movement with regards to the financial matters…” Lyte said. “To have almost 400 persons in one location for the first day is a testament that we are serious about change. In parts of the other Regions, from Region One to Ten, similar protests are taking place. And you know that strike action usually intensifies as the days continue,” the GTU President noted.

Lyte believes industrial action is the only way that teachers will get the Government to commit to addressing their issues. He noted that since 2020, the GTU has been pushing for an across-the-board increase in salaries for teachers as part of a multi-year agreement.

The proposal covers the years 2020 to 2023. “We want them to in a more tangible manner commit to making the lives of teachers better, Lyte stated, while noting the 6.5% salary increase for public servants (Continued on page 14)

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From page 13 imposed on teachers last December is “not even a drop in the bucket.”

“It is a digression from what we collected in 2022 that was imposed. So, if you are going to be thinking about forward movement, why are you reducing the increase, rather than increasing,” he added. The GTU President noted too that while the Union is empowered by law to lead teachers in industrial action, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour are seeking to undermine and intimidate teachers into not participating in the strike. On its Facebook page, the Ministry of Education posted images of some schools in full session, and not being affected by the strike. However, Lyte said, “we are not worried about their efforts, a majority of our members have committed to standing with the union for the overall good of everyone.” “They are threatening to cut the salaries of teachers for being absent but we are focused on way beyond the threats of pay cuts,” he added.

Kaieteur News also spoke to teachers and other supporters in protest outside the Ministry of Education’s Head office located on Brickdam. As the crowd joined in chants, calling for higher wages, teachers who spoke to this publication noted that their frustration is tied to the fact that the cost of living continues to rise but not teachers’ salaries.

Carla Evelyn of East La Pentience asserted “The price of everything in the market is double and triple but the government expects teachers to sit and take it while they read out a trillion dollar budget with nothing in it for us. They need to pay properly because soon teachers will not be able to feed themselves much less their families.”

Shawnette Paul a parent who joined the protest in solidarity with the teachers explained that as a parent, “I feel compelled to come out here and stand with the teachers because they have to teach and help take care of our children when they are in school. I want what is best for them so they can give our children the best.”

Region Three in solidarity In Region Three similar sentiments were expressed.

One teacher brought a few coins to show what was left

Sunday February 11, 2024

increase in salaries along with other benefits…our issues are simple bread and butter issues and it affect our livelihood, we are here to signal not only to the residents of Region 10 but to the entire Guyana that enough is enough, we cannot go on any longer,” one teacher told this newspaper.

ExxonMobil doled out US$8.2B to shareholders for 2023 fourth quarter …says it is taking advantage of opportunities to pump more from Guyana, other assets

Teachers protest at Region One

In Region Two, Teachers assembled outside the Education Department in Cotton Field when he was finished purchasing classroom necessities. “That grant does not benefit teachers because we have to give account for every penny we spend. So stop making the people feel as though we getting this money to take home or something,” the teacher said.

In Region Two where the Minister of Education Priya Manickchand was on a visit to distribute school supply cash grants, teachers stood on the streets and chanted “We need more in 2024.”

Teachers in Region Two turned up their numbers in front of the Department of Education at Cotton Field, Essequibo Coast to show their support of the GTU calls for better benefits.

In a Facebook video that was live on Martin Samaroo’s page, a large number of teachers were assembled under the shed along with the regional representatives of the GTU, as they were being informed of the format of the protest

several teachers voiced their opinions. One teacher was heard saying “teachers are peaceful and professional, we are just fighting for our bread and butter.” Another teacher who identified as Sir S a m a r o o a d d e d “ We couldn’t even use the money for transportation from the cash grant. We had to go into our own pockets to go and buy the stuff so what the Minister is saying it’s a lie and it’s meant to distract people and misinform parents.”

After the pep talk, the teachers were heard singing loudly: “Solidarity forever for the union makes us strong.” Subsequently, they took to the streets to chant and hold their placards.

During the protest they were informed that the Minister of Education was on her way to the Region and the teachers stood in the blazing sun continuing to chant. As the time drew nearer for the Minister to arrive, the teachers intensified their

chanting, shouting “What we need? Collective bargaining!”

Most schools closed in Linden Meanwhile, in Linden the teachers braved the sweltering heat to participate in the protest and strike action. Most of the schools in Linden were closed and parents kept their children home while some even opted to join the teachers in their ‘struggle’.

The teachers with placards and chants, bemoaned the 6.5 percent increase that was recently added to their salaries. The teachers were joined by the executive members of the Upper Demerara GTU Branch and regional officials. Member of Parliament Jermaine Figueira- himself a teacher led the protest along with Municipal Councillor Vanessa Kissoon who is also a teacher. “We demand collective bargaining agreement, we demand

debunching, we demand an increase in our salaries,” they declared.

The GTU’s regional chairman Alistair Blair walked with the teachers with his placard, “In unity we stand for a better educated land.” The teachers took Republic Avenue by storm and culminated the march at the Department of Education. Figueira added that the strike is a call for more than money but a complete overhaul in the education system. The teachers chanted, “‘6.5 percent can’t work”, while being supported by onlookers. ‘Slippers on the ground, we ain’t backing down,’ ‘Students driving, teacher walking, mek it mek sense,” were some of the other chants. “Overwork, underpay, mek it mek sense,’ ‘teachers can’t pay rent with 6.5 percent,” some of the protesters added.

“Teachers are demonstrating their frustration, the 6.5 percent

E x x o n M o b i l Corporation’s Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Kathy Mikells, recently noted that the oil giant gave its shareholders a big pay day in the fourth quarter of 2023.

During the company’s recent earnings call, Mikells said Exxon distributed US$8.2 billion to shareholders. The Vice President said this brings total distributions for the year to more than US$32 billion. “This includes about US$17.5 billion in share repurchases, consistent with the programme that we laid out in December 2022, and leading peers,” said Mikells, adding, “We raised our fourth-quarter dividend by 4.4%, to US$0.95 per share, and saw growth in the annual dividend for the 41st consecutive year, a long track record that leads our peers.”

Mikells also announced the company’s plans to increase the share repurchase pace to US$20 billion annually through 2025, assuming reasonable market conditions.

With respect to Exxon’s year-end cash balance, Mikells said this was US$31.6 billion, up almost

by US$2 billion when compared to the end of 2022.

Mikells also noted that its upstream business (which refers to the exploration and production phase of the oil sector), saw earnings totalling US$6.3 billion. She said this primarily reflected improved volume and mix driven by continued growth from “our advantaged Guyana and Permian assets, consistent with our objective of growing value.”

With respect to the capital and exploration expense for the fourth (Continued on page 66)

Sunday February 11, 2024

Kaieteur News

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CDB supporting regional food security thrust and Agri-Trade in Guyana BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - The Caribbean is one of the major food importers paying close to USD 6 billion for 80% of its food imports.

While there is latent capacity within the agriculture sector, the region's farmers are constrained by several factors including the absence of clear guidelines and protocols for the movement of plant and animal products.

This gap affects everyone involved in intraregional agri-food trade

from the small community farmers to traders to retailers by limiting their ability to capitalise on trade opportunities within the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

Consumers are also negatively affected as their access to nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables produced within the region is also curtailed. Connectivity, cooperation and integration are therefore key in reducing not only the massive food import bill but also in reducing the cost of produce

and manufacturing inputs.

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is supporting agriculture and rural development, and business competitiveness with two new projects in Guyana targeting national and regional food security.

The Strengthening Surveillance Programmes for Bovine Tuberculosis and Bovine Brucellosis in Guyana and the Development of a Food P r o d u c t s Tr a c e a b i l i t y System for Pineapples and Leafy Greens in Guyana

projects are tools with which the Bank is assisting Guyana, the region's food basket, to improve not only productivity and market linkages but also aspects of CARICOM's 20 by 2025 initiative.

According to Lisa Harding the Bank's Acting Head of the Private Sector

Division, “We're committed to supporting all our Borrowing Member Countries with instilling good agricultural practices and compliance procedures among stakeholders of the agri-food supply chain, and the development of regional public goods to strengthen agriculture health and food

safety and increase intraregional trade.” CDB's work in the Caribbean also emphasizes agri-business as a critical area for investment.

Through collaborations with development partners, agriculture stakeholders inclusive of farmers are being empowered to adopt (Continued on page 65)

Kaieteur News

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Sunday February 11, 2024

By foregoing oil profits, Exxon admits Guyana is a co-investor in Stabroek Block In the absence of a ringfencing provision, President of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), Alistair Routledge has agreed that Guyana is a co-investor in the Stabroek Block.

Ring-fencing means that each oil project should pay for itself. It would also allow the country to benefit from 50 percent of profits at individual projects after expenses have been recovered or repaid to the Contractor.

Guyana, however, has been foregoing billions in US-dollars each year that is used up by the Stabroek Block co-venturers, Exxon, Hess and CNOOC, to develop the vast resources discovered offshore. Be that as it may, the country does not benefit from a significant portion of the profits; instead, it receives a meagre

14.5 percent share.

Guyana also does not have a seat at the table to make investment decisions and determining relevant expenditure, although it carries this title. The country has instead settled to audit the company's expenses after they have been incurred.

On Tuesday, during Exxon's first press engagement for 2024, Routledge in response to a question from this publication explained that Guyana is a co-investor in the Stabroek Block, though it does not take money out of its treasury for this purpose.

“In essence the country is a co-investor, that's the nature of our Production Sharing Agreement. You share in the upside of the investments that are being made. The good news is, the country doesn't have to put

any capital at risk, doesn't have to find the capital to make the investment upfront,” he said.

The Country Manager went on to point out that to date the Co-Venturers have invested US$29 billion, while Guyana has not taken resources from the public purse to finance the oil and gas operations.

“There's no dollars [that] comes out of the treasury from the country and yet its making- in financial termsinfinite returns on a zero investment,” Routledge said.

Kaieteur News had asked the Exxon official whether he believes the country should benefit more, given that its profits are being shortened to invest across the Block.

To this end, he noted, “Well I think the profits are significant. You think about

it in economic terms…so its zero risk but generating billions. I mean to date the country into the Natural Resource Fund; there's been over US$3.6 billion that have been paid. Of that, US$1.6B was paid last year alone so you can see that this is accelerating as production increases and its gonna continue to do so as we go from this year.”

The Country Manager told this newspaper that Guyana may want to pursue a different model agreement in the future; however the country would do so at its own risk.

“Does Guyana in the future want to have a different model, there are countries around the world who in the early days start with a PSA but then in the future decide that they want to have a licensing round

with a different contract structure and that's entirely viable, it's up to the country on what risk it wants to take with the nation's financial resources and whether it wants to play that game,” he explained.

P r e v i o u s l y, Vi c e President Bharrat Jagdeo said that the arrangement Guyana currently has with ExxonMobil and partners to develop the country's oil endowment, does not afford the nation a “comanagement” position. He was addressing concerns relative to the company's expenses when he explained that the lack of a comanagement position does not allow the country insights into the companies' spending to ensure beforehand, that Guyana is not being given bills with inflated costs for goods and

ExxonMobil Guyana Country Manager, Alistair Routledge services needed within the sector.“There is no provision in the contract for comanagement,” Jagdeo clarified.

He continued, “Although we are entitled to 50 percent of the profit; they manage.

There is an operator that operates on behalf of the shareholders that run the company.” Read more in the l i n k b e l o w : https://www.kaieteurnewso nline.com/2022/08/20/intribute-to-bibi-shadick/

Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

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Teachers resort to various side hustles to eke out a living from small salaries With a steep rise in cost of living and salaries which leave much to be desired, some teachers have resorted to using their skills and talents as a means of generating a livable income.

During the ongoing Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) - led industrial action set to engage government for higher wages for teachers, this publication reached out to a few teachers who spoke about the various side hustles which help to keep them afloat when their salaries “can no longer cut it.”

Tishonna David, a teacher from Port Kaituma, Region One told Kaieteur News that her monthly expenses far outweigh her $93,000 take home salary. The trained teacher and mother of one, therefore resorted to becoming a nail technician on weekends and holidays.“You can imagine, there is no work that is easy and I'm not complaining but you see during Christmas, I try to catch my hands and work on some nails. Within a few days, I was able to make $50,000 but don't talk,… my shoulders hurt, really hurt because of the angles you does have to be in to file these nails,” she said.

Another teacher from the area who referred to herself as 'Ms Anita' also works as a nail technician on weekends and works as a makeup artist occasionally to make ends meet. She told this publication that while she loves teaching, the salary that she receives at the end of the month cannot cover the needs of her family. She is a mother of two.

“I have a spouse but I have to the extra to bring in enough for us to live comfortably.”

Ms. Taneka Samaroo from Region Three told this newspaper that she would sometimes make plantain chips and other local snacks to sell to assist her financially. “It does not be a lot but it comes in handy when I have to pay passage or buy any little thing for myself,” she noted.

The teacher said though she has not been in the profession for as long as some of her colleagues.

She noted that, “For many persons, teaching is a chosen profession one that they love to do it but that doesn't take away from the fact that the salary is too small and the cost of living is rising. These things can affect the way you look at a job that you are passionate about. It kind of kills your spirit.”

Mr. Rayel Franklyn from Region Six has been in the system for 23 years. He is a senior master and on the higher end of the salary scale. However, the teacher said his household demands have caused to set up an entire barbeque and grill business.

“I decided to start the business my government income could not take care of my family of four adequately. So I opened a weekend

Teachers on the protest line calling for higher salaries

The nails that were done by teachers in Port Kaituma barbeque and grill business to assist with my wages. It brings in the extra so that I can do what I needed to do,” Franklyn said.

Another teacher from Region Six who referred to herself as 'Miss J' told this newspaper that she started her business in 2019.

She said that she initially focused on cakes and then expanding into customized items and online shopping in 2022.

“After I finish CPCE in 2018 I started looking for another source of income because with the constant increase in cost of living one source of income was no longer enough to assist myself and my family,” she said.

According to the teacher, her dream is to have her own home and vehicle by a certain time.

“I am trained since 2015, and if I was to rely solely on teaching it just won't be enough. After starting my business, I'm no longer living pay cheque to pay cheque. I'm now able to pay my bills and save for the future. Since I started my business, I was able to create a better future myself and family. My salary only covers my expenses. I can now save to buy a vehicle from the money I have earned from my business, had I waited to save that from my salary, I don't know when I would have been able to even buy myself a car,”

she said.Martin Samaroo from Region Two asserted that if he didn't have his side hustle, “I and my family would be dead in our boots” “It sounds rough but that how it is when the money you are working for can barely take care of you and those you care for.”

The teacher works as a photographer part-time. He told Kaieteur News that his earnings from photography helps to keep him going.

“My side hustle sometimes earns me as much as my salary,” Samaroo stated.

Cupcakes made by Miss J

One teacher does plantain chips to help with her expenses

Some of the barbque chicken from a side hustle of a senior teacher in Region Six

Kaieteur News

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Sunday February 11, 2024

Tobago Oil Spill: “Tobago was never ready for this” Trinidad Express - A major disaster continued to impact Tobago on Friday as an overturned oil products tanker called GulfStream kept spewing black oily deposits into the ocean, eventually reaching from Scarborough to Lowlands.

Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Chief Secretary Farley Augustine says a decision would be made today as to whether Tobago will move to Tier Three status where the help of international partners will be necessary.

The oil spill has spread and caused extensive damage to the coastline around the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort and t h e B o a r d w a l k a t To b a g o Plantations.

It caused the cancellation of Kiddies Carnival, scheduled for today in Scarborough, and early estimates are suggesting the spill has caused millions of dollars in damage to the island's environment.

Two Government ministers yesterday visited the island to offer help and resources.

Oil is still flowing from the Gulfstream vessel into Tobago's waters. This was confirmed during a media conference in Scarborough as the authorities have not been able to cap the source of the flow.

Augustine said Tobago was never ready to treat with this level of devastation.

“Tobago was never ever ready for this kind of a spill; you're talking about an island that does not have sufficient amount of booms, an island that doesn't have storage, adequate storage capacity for this kind of oil or for toxic material. We never prepared for this as an eventuality,” he said.

But what is more concerning is the fact that oil is still oozing from the vessel. This was confirmed by expert diver and head of the Tobago Marine Safety and Security Services Ltd Alvin Douglas.

“We got a call from a couple of professionals who are going to speedily come to the island and assist us in trying to plug that leak; we also mentioned that we want to put one of these booms, the boom to redirect the flow of that crude oil, and try to see if we can capture it before it gets more into the sensitive areas,” Douglas said.

Augustine said underwater vehicles will be used today to assist.

“Additionally, we are going to be using (today) some unmanned vehicles underwater; those operators will be on island. These vehicles will allow us to safely send cameras down into the vessel and to the area where the IMO number

The Gulfstream vessel believed to have overturned off Tobago.

TEMA representatives clean up Scarborough beach in Tobago (TEMA)

should be where we can't safely send divers at this time,” Augustine said.

To b a g o E m e rg e n c y Management Agency (TEMA)

director Allan Stewart described the situation as a logistical nightmare. He said the United Nations has given its commitment to assist.

“You have to talk about building capacity on the island as we see this thing is even moving towards what can be considered a Tier Three. Tier Three means that

there is international involvement.

Those persons have already started speaking to us; the United Nations reached out to me sometime just (Continued on page 72)

Sunday February 11, 2024 The oil disaster in Tobago (Photo: TEMA)

Tobago coasts in danger after sunken boat causes oil spill Trinidad Guardian Officials are racing against time to prevent a mix of oil and fuel from reaching the coasts of Tobago, following the capsizing of an unidentified vessel in waters off the island yesterday.

In an emergency media conference, Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary, Farley Augustine explained that oil had been spotted hundreds of metres away from the overturned vessel, approximately 200 metres south of Cove at Canoe Bay. To b a g o E m e rg e n c y Management Agency (TEMA) CEO, Allan Stewart said the oil had moved from Canoe Bay, heading northwest through Little Rockley Bay near Lambeau and into Rockley Bay, Scarborough, spanning just over eight kilometres.

Clean-up efforts began yesterday afternoon through collaboration with TEMA, the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries, which is the custodian of the

National Oil Spill Contingency Plan and leads the Incident Command Team in the event of a major spill, and Kaizen Environmental Services, a company that specialises in oil spills.

According to Augustine, Kaizen, which has equipment stored in Scarborough in the event of a spill, gave TEMA and the THA the green light to use the equipment “as we try our best to mitigate against further environmental damage from the oil spill.”

He added that TEMA has in stock and will use sphagnum peat moss, which encapsulates the crude oil that floats on the water’s surface and can subsequently be recovered with a large net.

Other equipment and service providers have been engaged to respond to the spill and capsized boat.

“I am advised that we have some specialist divers on their way to Tobago.

Continued on page 71

Kaieteur News The vessel that caused the oil spill offshore Tobago (Photo: TEMA)

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Sunday February 11, 2024

Jagdeo supported teachers’ strike in 2018 for better wages, but in 2024 he sings a different tune while in office

By Shervin Belgrave As Opposition Leader in 2018, Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo supported a nationwide teachers’ strike for better salaries while he was Leader of the Opposition but in 2024 while in government is singing a different tune.

Over the last five days there has been an intense strike/protests by teachers across the country demanding better salaries but the Peoples Progressive

Party Civic (PPP/C) led government is refusing to meet and bargain with them on a possible salary increase.

At Jagdeo’s weekly press conference on Thursday he was asked multiple times whether his government will at some point engage the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) to negotiate increase in salaries and better working conditions.

Instead of answering the questions, the Vice President dodged them.

One reporter asked,

“What is wrong with collectively bargaining with the union and salaries, let them submit proposals, you look at them”.

Jagdeo in response said that the GTU is not a “credible” organisation to meet with.

“Frankly speaking, now that I have had chance to go through in great detail where the state of the union, you know sometimes we are busy and you don’t look, I accused the media of doing that, but we too didn’t pay

enough attention, with this state of affairs this is not credible body anymore,” Jagdeo said.

The Vice President claimed too that the government has already met 60 percent of GTU’s demand as it relates to better working conditions for teachers.

“Not everything has to be about wages, it could be about training of teachers, scholarships for teachers, it should be about housing for teachers. The 100 billion we spend on house lots, teachers

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo in 2024 will benefit from that, the roads we build for communities, teachers will also benefit from that…”, Jagdeo posited.

Jagdeo also made it clear that he does not support the ongoing protest/strike led by GTU because it is a political one.

This is the same Jagdeo who in 2018 as Opposition Leader supported a nationwide strike by teachers.

At a PPP/C press conference on September 6, 2018, Jagdeo said “…We have a crisis with our teachers and our children, crisis because this government [the then APNU+AFC government] has refused to negotiate in good faith with the teachers.”

He then added, “Crisis because they [the previous government] have been callously mis-representing the teachers and rather than

sit down and renegotiate with them they have been engaged in a confrontational approach to resolving this issue.”

At that time teachers were similarly, in a deadlock with the Ministry of Education, for salary increases and Jagdeo as Opposition Leader threw his full support behind them and accused the then government of finding monies to double ministers’ salaries and not the wages of teachers.

“So let me just say that we support teachers and their industrial actions because of the way they are treated and the whole country should,” Jagdeo said in 2018 before adding, “And so we support this strike, this is not a political strike although they [the APNU+AFC Administration] try to make it like that”.

Plaisance/Sparendaam’s ‘Mrs Vernice’ turns 100 on Valentine’s Day

Mrs Unis Vernice Bunbury is turning 100 on Valentine’s Day Mrs. Unis Bunbury known to many in the twin villages of Plaisance /Sparendaam on the East Coast of Demerara as ‘Mrs. Vernice’ will be celebrating her 100th birth Anniversary on February 14, 202.

The fact that her birth occurred on a day that the world celebrates love is no coincidence as has she surely demonstrated such virtues throughout her life.

The community, her relatives and family can attest to her practical demonstration of love as she is their mentor, teacher, disciplinarian and philanthropist.

As such, the villagers join in saluting her on momentous milestone. Long live Mrs. Vernice Bunbury.

Sunday February 11, 2024

Kaieteur News

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s l l a f r e t a W The

Entrepreneur and owner of ‘Flowers and Garlands by Vedo’, Vadewattie Ramkhelawan

Camille’s Academy launches inaugural AI4 Education conference

— teachers and students across Guyana urged to tap into the benefits of new technology

CEO of Camille’s Academy Inc, Camille Deokie Gorakh (right) is joined by students of the Academy, Nick Brown, the founder of the Caribbean AI Institute and a teacher of CAI

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Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

Swevia Evans Constantly seeking opportunities to expand her knowledge and skills, this week’s beauty, Swevia Evans firmly believes that learning is a lifelong journey, and she embraces this philosophy wholeheartedly. The 22-yearold, who hails from the vibrant village of Arakaka in Region One, is currently on the path to a career in surgery. Swevia balances her academic pursuits with a deep devotion to the arts, whether she’s crafting traditional artworks or cherishing moments with her family and beloved pet.

In addition to her academic and artistic endeavours, Swevia is poised to embark on a new venture as the proud owner of an upcoming online art supply store and art shop, aptly named “Palette Paradise.”

Through this venture, she hopes to not only showcase her own talents but also to uplift and support others on their creative journeys. Her favourite quote is by Oprah Winfrey, “We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.”

Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

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Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts should not be chess pieces

By Sir Ronald Sanders (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the US and the OAS. He is also the current President of the OAS Permanent Council.

The views expressed are entirely his own. For comments and previous commentaries, see: www.sirronaldsanders.com) If governments, around the world have become confused about support for Ukraine in defence of its sovereignty and territorial integrity against Russian aggression, the US Congress is responsible.

Over recent weeks, a contentious negotiation has unfolded between Republicans and Democrats, overshadowing the urgent matter of authorizing continued funding for Ukraine.

Republicans seek to tie increased aid to Ukraine with the closure of the US southern border, citing concerns about escalating migrant numbers.

Despite Democrats acquiescing to this demand, Republicans, influenced by Donald Trump’s campaign strategies, have hesitated to act on border closure, potentially using the migrant issue as a political tool against Joe Biden.

The theatrics exhibited by representatives of both the Republican and Democratic parties in the US Congress have been

broadcasted globally, prompting onlookers to question whether Ukraine should consider alternative avenues to resolve the conflict with Russia. However, Ukraine faces a dire predicament with limited favourable options.

Without adequate military support, it is left with the grim choice of either engaging in a potentially more devastating conflict with Russia or acquiescing to significant territorial concessions and ceding control over crucial aspects of its affairs to Russia.

Ukraine bears no responsibility for igniting this conflict; rather, it was instigated by Russia, blatantly violating international law and the principles outlined in the Charter of the United Nations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has frequently cited the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) into Eastern Europe as justification for his country’s invasion of Ukraine, despite NATO never formally agreeing to Ukraine’s membership, both then and now. It’s plausible that NATO refrained from extending membership to Ukraine precisely due to concerns about provoking Russia, given that its 31 members, predominantly European states along with Canada and the US, aimed to avoid escalating tensions.

Hence, the more plausible motive behind Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine, which

commenced with the invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014, long predating the current military escalation, is Vladimir Putin’s persistent aspiration to absorb Ukraine into Russia.

Any act of aggression against a sovereign state warrants universal condemnation to preserve peace and stop war. This principle holds particular significance for smaller nations, whose defence against aggression by more powerful entities relies heavily on worldwide adherence to international law. The toxic behaviour exhibited in the US undermines the credibility of the Congress in upholding international principles.

It is the behaviour of the US Congress that is causing other nations to ponder other choices for Ukraine.

Mixed-up with the global attitude to the Russian-Ukraine conflict is the Israeli war against Hamas in Gaza, which is now in its fourth month since October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants killed some 1,200 Israelis and took more than 200 hostages.

Whatever Hamas thought it would achieve by its actions, it succeeded in giving a license to Israeli leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, to rain down a war of hell in Gaza. Israeli military forces are now responsible for the deaths of more than 27,000 people.

The war’s death, destruction and displacement are without precedent in the decades of conflict between Israel and Palestine.

N e t a n y a h u ’s confrontational stance has s p a r k e d international

outrage, prompting South Africa to file a case with the International Court of Justice.

The case accuses Israel of genocide in its campaign against Hamas, alleging a deliberate intent to annihilate Palestinians in Gaza as part of the broader Palestinian community.

Netanyahu’s persistent and aggressive stance against Palestinians, exemplified by his rejection of a Hamas ceasefire proposal as “delusional,” has stirred international frustration. Of greater concern is Netanyahu’s decision to intensify military operations in Gaza, despite the support of influential Arab states like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar for a peace plan that includes the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu’s insistence on pursuing “absolute victory” and opposing a Palestinian state further complicates the situation.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is actively pursuing what has been termed as “a practical, time bound, irreversible path to a Palestinian state,” as part of negotiations involving the US, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Saudi Arabia.

While there are no assurances that such a deal could be reached or effectively implemented, Blinken’s efforts are set against a backdrop where the reputation of the US government has, in the eyes of many governments, been tarnished by its previous staunch support for Israel.

However, conflating the plight of Ukraine, a victim of Russian aggression, with the Israeli-Hamas

Sir Ronald Sanders conflict is a misstep. Refusing to address the Ukrainian crisis unless Gaza receives comparable focus is counterproductive. What is necessary is equal global attention to both crises and a steadfast commitment to actively pursue their resolution.

As UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized to the UN General Assembly when outlining priorities for 2024: “Peace is the missing piece across the globe and across a spectrum of issues. People yearn for peace and security, peace and dignity, and quite frankly, peace and quiet”.

Representatives in the US Congress should reconsider their posture of bargaining for domestic political advantage over global issues that is costing lives and disrupting the world.

All other nations should refrain from treating the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts as bargaining chips. These crises demand urgent humanitarian attention and the application of international justice.

If the US Congress and governments around the world continue the present approach to these two conflicts, much more destruction and many more lives will be lost. This will exacerbate the current global instability, and potentially expand into other countries, pushing the prospect of global peace further out of reach.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

Sunday February 11, 2024

Kaieteur News

g stin s... e r e e r Int eatu Cr

Snapping Turtle

Scientific name: Chelydra serpentina Status: Species at Risk, Special Concern Often found with its dome dramatically draped in algae and vegetation, the Snapping Turtle isn’t just making a snappy fashion statement! These incredible creatures can live to be over 100 years old, and they deserve our respect and protection.

Like other turtles, Snappers are well known in Indigenous cultures. In the

Ojibwe language, the snapping turtle is called “miskwaadesi” (pronounced miss-kwa-daze-ee). In the Mohawk language it is known as “kenhionnió:ron” (pronounced ken-ee-yo-neeo-ron).

Snapping Turtles enjoy a diet of just about anything they can catch! Creatures like frogs, small birds, insects, small mammals,

other smaller turtles, and even carrion are all fair game to a Snapper. You can find these feisty turtles all over the FAB region in ponds, swamps, lakes and rivers.

The safer their habitat, the larger they have the chance to grow.

If there is a wetland area in the FAB region that you frequent, and you often spot (Continued on page 35)

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Snapping Turtle Scientific name: Chelydra serpentina

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Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

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Sunday February 11, 2024

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Country Profile

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Indonesia is the world’s largest island country and the 14thlargest country by area, at 1,904,569 square kilometres (735,358 square miles). With over 279 million people, Indonesia is the world’s fourth-most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world’s most populous island, is home to more than half of the country’s population.

Indonesia is a presidential republic with an elected legislature. It has 38 provinces, of which nine have special autonomous status.

The country’s capital, Jakarta, is the world’s second-most populous urban area. Indonesia shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and the eastern part of Malaysia, as well as maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and India. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness with the world’s second-highest levels of biodiversity after Brazil.

The Indonesian archipelago has been a valuable region for trade since at least the seventh century when the Srivijaya and later Majapahit Kingdoms traded with entities from mainland China and the Indian subcontinent. Local rulers gradually

Indonesian cuisine

Indonesian Coat of Arms

absorbed foreign influences from the early centuries, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Sunni traders and Sufi scholars later brought Islam, and European powers fought one another to monopolise trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia’s history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratisation process, and periods of rapid economic growth.

Indonesia consists of thousands of distinct native ethnic and hundreds of

linguistic groups, with Javanese being the largest. A shared identity has developed with the motto ”Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” (“Unity in Diversity” literally, “many, yet one”), defined by a national language, cultural diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. The economy of Indonesia is the world’s 16thlargest by nominal GDP and the 7th-largest

by PPP. It is the world’s third-largest democracy, a regional power, and is considered a middle power in global affairs.

The country is a member of several multilateral organisations, including the United Nations, World Trade Organization, G20, and a founding member of the NonAligned Movement, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, East Asia Summit, D-8, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

The Indonesian Flag thrived and declined in inland Java, leaving grand religious monuments such as Sailendra’s Borobudur and Mataram’s Prambanan. The Hindu Majapahit kingdom was founded in eastern Java in the late 13th century, and under Gajah Mada, its influence stretched over much of present-day Indonesia. This period is often referred to as a “Golden Age” in Indonesian history.

Geography Indonesia lies between latitudes 11°S and 6°N and longitudes 95°E and 141°E. A transcontinental country spanning Southeast Asia and Oceania, it is the world’s largest archipelagic state, extending 5,120 kilometres (3,181 mi) from east to west and 1,760 kilometres (1,094 mi) from north to south. The country’s Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investments Affairs says Indonesia has 17,504 islands (with 16,056

The Tirta Gangga

History Fossilised remains of Homo erectus, popularly known as the “Java Man”, suggest the Indonesian archipelago was inhabited two million to 500,000 years ago. Homo sapiens reached the region around 43,000 BCE. Austronesian peoples, who form the majority of the modern population, migrated to Southeast Asia from what is now Taiwan.

They arrived in the archipelago around 2,000 BCE and confined the native Melanesians to the far eastern regions as they spread east.

Ideal agricultural conditions and the mastering of wet-field rice cultivation as early as the eighth century BCE allowed villages, towns, and small kingdoms to flourish by the first century CE. The archipelago’s strategic sea-lane position fostered inter-island and international trade, including with Indian kingdoms and Chinese dynasties, from several centuries BCE. Trade has since fundamentally shaped Indonesian history.

From the seventh century CE, the Srivijaya naval kingdom flourished due to trade and the influences of Hinduism and Buddhism. Between the eighth and tenth centuries CE, the agricultural Buddhist Sailendra and Hindu Mataram dynasties

registered at the UN) scattered over both sides of the equator, around 6,000 of which are inhabited.

The largest are Sumatra, Java, Borneo (shared with Brunei and Malaysia), Sulawesi, and New Guinea (shared with Papua New Guinea). Indonesia shares land borders with Malaysia on Borneo and Sebatik, Papua New Guinea on the island of New Guinea, East Timor on the island of Timor, and maritime borders with Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Palau, and Australia.

Economy Indonesia has a mixed economy in which the private sector and government play vital roles. As the only G20 member state in Southeast Asia, the country has the largest economy in the region and is classified as a newly industrialised country.

Per a 2023 estimate, it is the world’s 16th largest economy by nominal GDP and 7th in terms of GDP at PPP, estimated to be US$1.417 trillion and US$4.393 trillion, respectively. Per capita GDP in PPP is US$15,835, while nominal per capita DP is US$5,108.

Services are the economy’s largest sector and account for 43.4% of GDP (2018), (Continued on page 29)

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Country Profile

Indonesia From page 27 followed by industry (39.7%) and agriculture (12.8%).Since 2009, it has employed more people than other sectors, accounting for 47.7% of the total labour force, followed by agriculture (30.2%) and industry (21.9%). Over time, the structure of the economy has changed considerably.

Historically, it has been weighted heavily towards agriculture, reflecting both its stage of economic

development and government policies in the 1950s and 1960s to promote agricultural self-sufficiency.

A gradual process of industrialisation and urbanisation began in the late 1960s and accelerated in the 1980s as falling oil prices saw the government focus on diversifying away from oil exports and towards manufactured exports.

Culture The cultural history of the Indonesian archipelago

spans more than two millennia. Influences from the Indian subcontinent, mainland China, the Middle East, Europe, Melanesian and Austronesian peoples have historically shaped the cultural, linguistic and religious makeup of the archipelago. As a result, modern-day Indonesia has a multicultural, multilingual and multi-ethnic s o c i e t y, [ 1 ] [ 2 ] w i t h a complex cultural mixture that differs significantly

The Ulun Danu Beratan Temple in Bali Indonesia.

The Lempuyang Temple

from the original indigenous cultures. Indonesia currently holds thirteen items of U N E S C O ’s I n t a n g i b l e Cultural Heritage, including a wayang puppet theatre, kris, batik, pencak silat, angklung, gamelan, and the three genres of traditional Balinese dance.

Indonesian arts include both age-old art forms developed through centuries and recently developed contemporary art.

Despite often displaying local ingenuity, Indonesian arts have absorbed foreign influences—most notably from India, the Arab world, China and Europe, due to contacts and interactions facilitated, and often

motivated by trade. Painting is an established and developed art in Bali, where its people are famed for their artistry.

Their painting tradition started as classical Kamasan or Wayang style visual narrative, derived from visual art discovered on candi bas reliefs in eastern Java.

The music of Indonesia predates historical records.

Various indigenous tribes incorporate chants and songs accompanied by musical instruments in their rituals.

Angklung, kacapi suling, gong, gamelan, talempong, kulintang, and sasando are examples of traditional Indonesian instruments. The

diverse world of Indonesian music genres results from the musical creativity of its people and subsequent cultural encounters with foreign influences.

These include gambus and qasida from the Middle East, keroncong from Portugal, and dangdut—one of Indonesia’s most popular music genres—with notable Hindi influence as well as Malay orchestras.

Today, the Indonesian music industry enjoys both nationwide and regional popularity in Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, due to the common culture and mutual intelligibility between Indonesian and Malay.

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Ozzy Osbourne turned down Kanye’s Sample Request, Sharon Explains Why “ We g e t s o m a n y requests for these songs, and when we saw that request, we just said no way,” she tells Billboard.

Former Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne called out Kanye West on social media on Friday (Feb. 9), saying that West had asked to sample a song but was “refused permission because he is an antisemite,” and used the sample anyway at a listening event for his new album at the United Center in Chicago on Thursday. “I want no association with this man!”

Osbourne wrote.

Although Osbourne said online that West asked to sample “War Pigs,” the song he seems to have used is “Iron Man” – specifically a version performed by Ozzy

Osbourne’s solo band at the 1983 Us Festival. “ We g e t s o m a n y requests for these songs,” his wife and manager Sharon Osbourne tells Billboard, “and when we saw that request, we just said no way.”

Without permission, West would be unable to release a new song that used the sample. “We’ve been in touch with his team” about the legal issue,” says Sharon Osbourne. “And it’s also an issue of having respect for another artist.”

Starting in 2022, West, now known simply as Ye, made a series of antisemitic comments, for which he was widely condemned, and lost numerous sponsorship and fashion deals. Although he offered an online apology for

his statements in December, the first song from his forthcoming album, Vultures, includes the lyric “How am I antisemitic? / I just f—ed a Jewish bitch.”

Although West does not seem to have finalized release details for the album – and Ozzy Osbourne’s comments suggest he may face issues clearing samples – he has held a number of listening events to promote it.

Ozzy Osbourne often allows other artists to sample his work. “But the simple thing is, we don’t want to be associated with a hater,” says Sharon Osbourne, who was raised Jewish. (Her father, the U.K. music manager Don Arden, was Jewish.) “To spread hate the way he does, it shouldn’t be allowed. All

Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne attend the Pre-GRAMMY Gala and GRAMMY Salute to Industry Icons Honoring Sean “Diddy” Combs at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 25, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. the excuses – he’s bipolar or whatever – doesn’t change that. It’s like, f— you, basically.”

Like many early Black Sabbath songs, “Iron Man” was written by the band – Osbourne, Tony Iommi,

Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.

Who has the rights to license interpolations of a composition by more than one songwriter can depend on the agreement between them. In this case, Sharon Osbourne tells Billboard that

the agreement says all four songwriters need to agree.

There could also be permissions issues with the 1983 performance recording, to which Ozzy Ozbourne presumably has the rights.

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Setting camera traps for Giant Armadillos and Giant Anteaters

Participants examining a camera used in the exercise.

Two participants setting-up a camera trap.

Residents of the South Rupununi villages of Shea, Maruranau and Awarewaunau recently gathered in the area to create a plan to set camera traps for Giant Armadillos and Giant Anteaters in their titled land.

The South Rupununi Conservation Society (SRCS) said the individuals learned how to use a camera trap and discussed locations to set the camera traps.

They also learned the scientific method for positioning the camera traps. “The individuals will now spend the next few weeks setting the camera traps in their communities,” the SRCS noted.

For the past few decades, residents of Shea, Maruranau and Awarewaunau have

noticed an apparent decline in their local giant armadillo and giant anteater populations.

Therefore, the aim of the project, the SRCS said, is to find out more information about the species including their population, behaviour and distribution and also to identify the potential threats they are facing.

The SRCS expressed appreciation to SGP Guyana and Conservation International Guyana for supporting what it terms an important project.

The body also expressed appreciation to the communities of Shea village, Maruranau village and Awarewaunau for partnering and collaborating with the entity on the project.

A participant indicates the height of which one of the animals usually grow.

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Sunday February 11, 2024 g stin s... e r e e r Int eatu Cr

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Snapping Turtle

From page 35 a Snapping Turtle, pay close attention each year to see if it’s the same one. A scientist has been tracking the same female in Algonquin Park for over 40 years, and estimates that it may be over 100 years old!

You know you are looking at a Snapping Turtle if you spot their large, bulky dark brown shell (called a carapace) that is frequently sporting a good deal of vegetative growth. The older the turtle, the larger the shell and the more growth you will see. Snapping turtles have sturdy, triangular shaped heads with a hooked beak. It has a long neck that can move incredibly fast, and strong jaws that can clamp down in an instant.

Something many people

don’t know about Snapping turtles is that they have a very unique way of breathing underwater. They have the ability to extract oxygen from the water through their cloaca. A cloaca is a multipurpose opening used for waste elimination, reproduction, and respiration. So, the next time a kid tells you turtles can breathe through their butts, they aren’t wrong.

The Snapping Turtle is considered an apex predator, although they do have a few natural predators. Their eggs are of course very vulnerable to prey, and from time to time larger birds and animals like eagles, osprey, bobcats, and coyotes might decide to dine on a Snapper.

Description: Canada’s largest freshwater turtle,

they can grow to 20-36 cm and up to 16kg. They have large black, olive or brown shells usually covered in algae. Their tails, which can be longer than their bodies, have dinosaur-like triangular crests along their length.

Hatchlings are about the size of a loonie and are smaller and darker than adults, with pronounced ridges along the length of their shell.

Habitat: Snapping Turtles spend most of their lives in water, preferably shallow waters where they hide under the soft mud and leaf litter, with only their noses exposed to the surface to breathe. During the nesting season, from early to mid summer, females travel overland in search of a suitable nesting site, usually gravelly or sandy areas along

Snapping Turtle Scientific name: Chelydra serpentina

streams. Snapping Turtles often take advantage of manmade structures for nest sites, including roads (especially gravel shoulders), dams and aggregate pits.

Location: Snapping Turtles can be found in massive area across North America.

Their range stretches from Ecuador to Canada. In Canada this turtle can be

found from the prairies to Nova Scotia, but it is primarily limited to the southern part of Ontario. As the best habitat sites are encroached on, the Snapping Turtle’s range is shrinking.

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Guyana closer to the elimination of Filaria ...as leprosy and TB cases decline Guyana is now closer to the eradication of filaria, leprosy and other neglected diseases, while cases of Tuberculosis (TB) are also on the decline.

This information was disclosed by the Minister of Health, Frank Anthony, on February 2, 2024, during the examination of the budget estimates.

According to the Minister, filaria has vastly declined. He said Guyana is now closer to the eradication of the disease.

Minister Anthony, stated, “I’m happy to report that of our 10 administrative regions, we have good results in eight of those we are not finding the parasite and we only have now two regions where we have to place a lot more focus, and in those two regions which is four and three, there are specific areas within those two regions that we have to put some more focus on.”

He noted that those areas will be targeted with mass drug administration and next year the international evaluation team will be coming to evaluate Guyana.

Dr Anthony expressed confidence that Guyana will get good results and is on the trajectory to eliminate filaria.

In relation to leprosy, due to records of cases, that is also on the decline.

“We have seen a decline in cases, there has been a substantial decline, and we are monitoring the patients individually and for those in the households with those patients we want to introduce a programme, where we can give prophylaxis to those people in the household, so we break the transmission chain,” he highlighted.

The Minister noted that the new initiative will be started this year and there is provision in the budget for that.

Leishmaniasis, trypanosomiasis and worms are also being targeted as part of the five neglected diseases in Guyana. These are conditions that inflict severe health burdens on the world’s poorest people. “We are confident that the five neglected infections that we have identified, we are very

confident that by 2030 we will be able to eliminate them from Guyana,’ Minister Anthony added.

According to the head of P u b l i c H e a l t h Clinic/National Leprosy Centre Doctor Heather Morris, in the year 2021, 32 leprosy cases were recorded.

In 2022, 29 leprosy cases were recorded and in 2023, 28 leprosy cases were recorded.

Furthermore, he said TB is also on the decline in Guyana “If I recall correctly, we had 500 patients that had TB, and as of last year we had less than 40 patients and previously seen cases of multiple drug resistance TB, we have bought second-line treatments for those patients.

We had last year, less than 5, so in fact what we are seeing is a decline of TB cases,” Minister Anthony said.

He mentioned that the ministry has mapped where the cases are coming from and has been actively working to treat those patients.

“They have to be on treatment for six to nine

months. We have noticed that some persons are homeless who have TB and we have been encouraging those persons to come to the TB department, where we provide them with hot meals, and for most of those persons who have been coming we have been able to work with them and we have seen good results,” the minister said.

There are also provisions for training for the departments that will be working on the elimination of these diseases.

The National Aids Programme Secretariat has been allocated $19 million for work in the control of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Sexually Transmitted Information (STIs). $12 million was also set aside for epidemiology training.

“This will be done across the board because we want to strengthen our surveillance system, and we will be setting up a new electronic surveillance system during this year, to track various infectious diseases across Guyana,” he stated.

In addition, $12.5 million

Symptoms of Leprosy

has also been set aside to train persons to fight filaria as the ministry works towards the eradication of the disease. $11 million has also been set aside to work with miners to train them to detect and treat malaria.

“This here is a new initiative and because we are using rapid kits it’s much easier for us to train that person,” the Minister noted.

He noted that $7 million was also set aside to train people to detect leprosy,

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony while $6 million has been set aside to train healthcare workers on dengue.

Monies have also been set aside for training in port

health, and also to do entomology to understand the different species of mosquitoes and their habits, to better control them.

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eur

pren e r t n E g n u o Y

s r e w o l F and s d n a l r Ga Vedo

By Allyiah Allicock

by

Entrepreneur and owner of ‘Flowers and Garlands by Vedo’, Vadewattie Ramkhelawan

W

ith Valentine’s Day right around the corner and you are thinking of surprising that special someone with some beautiful fresh flowers, then ‘Flowers and Garlands by Vedo’ have got your back.

Offering fresh flowers (which are imported), fresh floral arrangements and garlands, ‘Flowers and Garlands by Vedo’ which opened its doors in September 2018, is owned by Vadewattie Ramkhelawan, a mother of one who hails from Triumph Village on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).

In a recent exclusive interview with The Waterfalls, Vadewattie said from as long as she can remember she always loved working with flowers. It is something she has had a deep admiration for, from a young age. The young woman shared that she has been making garlands (malas) for religious functions at home and for mandirs since she was a girl. Eventually, she became a pro at it and started to experiment with different styles and flowers.

She recalled that what had inspired her to launch her business back in 2018.

Ramkhelawan noted that it was the huge encouragement she got from her family especially her husband, to turn her skills into a business. “They saw my talent, creativity and of course, my love for flowers and inspired me to start,” she stated.

At ‘Flowers and Garlands’, they offer fresh flower arrangements and garlands for any occasion. According to Ramkhelawan, when the business started, they did flower arrangements in vases along with garlands for Hindu religious functions (pujas). After this she said, they expanded to doing fresh flower jewelry, wedding bouquets and boutonnieres and wedding garlands.

She noted that doing this for over five years now would not have been possible without the tremendous Continued on page 42

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Flowers and Garlands...

“Young entrepreneurs serve as role models in society. They inspire others that they too can do something meaningful and worthwhile with their lives no matter their age.”

Vadewattie and her beautiful family.

From page 40 support from her husband, who she said has her back in her whether it is getting the raw materials, looking after their son, or even doing the deliveries. Ramkhlelawan mentioned that it is the support from family and customers who have made her business blossom to where it is today.

Additionally, she said, ‘Flowers and Garlands’ would not have been standing tall today if it was not for the lessons learnt and challenges endured along the way. Speaking of challenges, she related to The Waterfalls, “At first when I started, I found it challenging to source some of the raw materials to do my work for example vases at a reasonable price but now more businesses are importing things like that. I can easily walk into stores now and find what I need. Also, it has become easier to import your own stuff from online.”

She added that when she first started as well, the business started to see sales which were ‘few and far apart.’ She said this did not discourage as she “kept at it” and eventually started to get more orders regularly.

Another challenging part she recalled came during the pandemic, when her business slowed down drastically.

“Flowers are a luxury many people weren’t bothered with. I also had to take a step back since I was pregnant during that time,” she stated. Nevertheless, she was able to overcome this and come back bigger and better.

When asked what is in store for her business and future plans, our featured entrepreneur disclosed that her long term goal is to have her own walk in flower shop because right now she does mostly pre orders from her Triumph home.

As the young woman continues to inspire and contribute to our society through her business, she is of the firm belief that young entrepreneurs are an inspiration to others. In her own words, she asserted “Young entrepreneurs serve as role models in society. They inspire others that they too can do something meaningful and worthwhile with their lives no matter their age.”

She suggested that to help young business owners grow in society, a lot more can be done. For example, she said there needs to be “easier access to start-up capital and loans” in order to boost small businesses locally. According to her, this would be a great help and encourage youths to become financially independent.

Persons who are desirous of utilising Vadewattie’s floral services can contact her on WhatsApp on telephone number: 592-645-0430. She is also available on Instagram at flowers and garlands, on Facebook at ‘Flowers and Garlands by Vedo’, and on Tik Tok at ‘flowers and garlands’. Note, orders are still open for this Valentine’s Day.

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CONSUMER CONCERNS

Suriname and Guyana share the same likeness.

Could they move into confederation?

By Pat Dial In the last three years, Chambers of Commerce between Guyana and four or five foreign countries have been founded or resuscitated and among the most important of these is the Suriname-Guyana Chamber of Commerce. At the end of January, the SurinameGuyana Chamber elected its Board of Directors, the majority of whom are wellknown persons who have interests in both countries.

These include Dr. Vishnu Doerga -Chairman, Mr. Deryk Klaverweide - Vice President, Mr Mark Sookhai - Treasurer, Mr. Samuel Glasgow - Secretary with Directors Rogier Simson, Ms Alista Bishop, Mr.SachinPritipaul (Jr), Mr. Jimmy Manna, Ms. Charlene Tjon-Sien-Kie, Ms. Anuskha Sonai and Ms. Gaytri Rampersad with Mr. Rahul Lildhar as Chief Executive Officer. The entire Board consists of executives of

vibrant companies and are traditional business men and women except for Mr. Sam Glasgow who is a young, able practicing lawyer who will contribute the peculiar skills and cast of mind of his noble profession.

The Chamber, like the Corentyne Bridge, is a welcome addition to the many things which are bringing Suriname and Guyana closer. Guyana and Suriname were, over the last three centuries, one country longer than there were separate entities. Guyana was founded by the Dutch while Suriname was founded by the British and though they changed hands over the centuries, each imperial power left its stamp on them.

Suriname’s lingua franca, Sranam Tongo, once known as “Talkie-talkie” or Neger Engels, for example, is an English Creole and could easily be understood and spoken by any Guyanese who live in Suriname for a few months. This came about

because Suriname was founded by the English. And upto the early 19th century, Suriname Dutch was spoken along the Guyana rivers and today, there are still many Dutch words in Guyanese speech.

In 1667, the Dutch who had owned what is now New York had captured the English colony of Suriname, and at the Treaty of Breda, decided to give New Amsterdam (later New York) to the English in exchange for Suriname and Suriname remained Dutch from that time. Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice continued to be Dutch until 1815 when these colonies were surrendered by the Treaty of Paris to the British who united them and named them British Guiana.

Both Guyana and Suriname therefore shared many common influences in the formation of their Social, Economic and Cultural life and this results in Guyana and Suriname being very much in the image of each

other.

It would be apposite to further elucidate the theme of Guyana and Suriname being much in each other’s image: The geography of Suriname and Guyana is the same - mountains, rivers, forests, drainage and irrigation problems; their economies used to be based on rice and sugar and then bauxite and today it is oil but they are both determined to avoid “Resource Curse” and are striving to keep their economies diversified. Their histories of Slavery and Indenture, though not identical, are similar and these forces have shaped the ethos and the racial composition of their populations with their folk cultures being much the same. Though their official

languages are English and Dutch, the ordinary Surinamese and Guyanese find it very easy to communicate with each other. Though Suriname uses the Civil Law and Guyana uses the English Common Law, their legal assumptions are essentially the same; indeed, until 1914, Guyana used the Civil Law and Surinamese lawyers sometimes practised in Guyana.

The Constitutions of

Guyana and Suriname do not differ much from each other and Guyanese and Surinamese fit very easily into each other’s country.

Until the first half of the 20th c e n t u r y, t h o u s a n d s o f Surinamese emigrated to Guyana and they were quickly assimilated and in Corentyne, many families live on both sides of the border. Likewise, from the beginning of Guyana’s economic collapse in the (Continued on page 51)

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...premiere creates major buzz in Jamaica

Sunday February 11, 2024

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Nearly a 1000 Guyanese benefit from management vs leadership event with renowned business coach Brad Sugars Attendees at the Action Coach “Management vs Leadership Live” session

I

n an event that marked the 8th anniversary of Brad Sugars’ first visit to Guyana, ActionCOACH Guyana hosted the highly anticipated “Management vs Leadership Live” session on February 1st, 2024.

The event, held at Pegasus Suites and Corporate Center, drew an incredible turnout of over 600 eager participants from all industries in Guyana.

The success of the Management vs Leadership Live event was made possible through the

generous support of dedicated sponsors, playing a crucial role in bringing this transformative session to t h e G u y a n e s e community.

The event is powered

by ActionCOACH G u y a n a a n d A c t i o n I N V E S T C a r i b b e a n I n c . Ti t l e Sponsor included Techlify, Gold Sponsors: Qualfon, Guyana Port Inc., NSBOmega Guyana Inc and Silver Sponsors: ANSA McAL, Impressions, and Who’s Who in Guyana Business

The session, led by Title Sponsor: Techlify, Gold Sponsors: Qualfon, Guyana Port Inc., NSBOmega Guyana Inc and Silver Sponsors: A N S A M c A L , Impressions, and Who’s Who in Guyana Business During the session Sugars, a renowned business coach delved deep into the dynamics of management versus leadership, providing invaluable strategies and insights to the diverse audience.

Attendees, ranging from

business owners to companies’ management teams and aspiring leaders, left the event with a renewed mindset, describing the experience as mindboggling, energizing, and enriched with revolutionary concepts.

Noteworthy among the success stories is Mr. Pritipaul Singh Jr., a client of ActionCOACH Guyana for two years, who shared his growth and transformation journey.

He credited his soonto-be USD billiondollar company, Guyana

Renowned business Coach, Brad Sugars speaking at the live event in Guyana

P o r t I n c . ’s e x t r e m e growth in Guyana to the strategies and guidance provided by his business coach.

ActionCOACH Guyana expressed gratitude to the sponsors and emphasized the positive impact of the event on the attendees.

The overwhelming response highlights the hunger for knowledge and growth within the business community in

Guyana.

As the event concluded, participants were buzzing with excitement, eager to implement the newfound strategies and concepts in their professional journeys. The success of the Management vs Leadership Live event u n d e r s c o r e s G u y a n a ’s commitment to continuous learning, leadership development, and achieving excellence in the business landscape.

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Suriname and Guyana share the same...

From page 43 1960's, it is estimated that between 60,000 to 70,000 Guyanese emigrated to Suriname to escape the hardship in their country and these were received with kindness and full acceptability and quickly integrated into Surinamese society. This is not strange since Guyanese and Surinamese instinctively recognise their sameness.

Guyana and Suriname

could cooperate far more closely than they do today as this will bring greater social, economic and political benefits to both territories.

Indeed, the time may have arrived for the two territories to form a Confederation, as distinct from a Federation, within CARICOM. It should be recalled that it was the West Indies Federation which was transformed into CARICOM, a mere economic union.

A Confederation is a looser union than a Federation and allows for greater individuality to accommodate those small numbers in either territory who may have reservations regarding a closer union. It will be a creative step if, in the Foreign Ministries of both countries, an officer or small unit is specially c h a rg e d w i t h w o r k i n g towards all facets of closer relations.

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Sunday February 11, 2024

GNBS IN FOCUS

GNBS continues to rely on the role of the stakeholders in its standards development process

I

n the complex landscape of standards development, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) anticipates the need for additional new and relevant standards and recognizes that stakeholders are integral to the success of the process. Stakeholder support is the lifeblood that sustains the quality infrastructure and ensures that standards evolve to meet the dynamic needs of industries and society.

Standards encompass rules and/or guidelines that are developed for use within various fields of practice as needed.

Typically, standards pertain to products, processes and production methods, addressing aspects such as terminologies, symbols, packaging, marking requirements or labelling requirements.

Stakeholders bring valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities within their respective domains fostering a deeper understanding that shapes the standards to be both practical and visionary.

The GNBS has 31 Technical Committees comprised of individuals from diverse technical and academic backgrounds who deliberate on the requirements to be included in a standard that is being developed.

Stakeholders on these Technical Committees range from industry experts to consumers, government and private sector bodies, and academia. They are the driving force behind the development of robust and relevant standards.

The engagement of stakeholders early in the standard development process is necessary as collaborative efforts during the

initial stages allow for a more inclusive and informed approach.

In fact, the process is usually initiated by a stakeholder or stakeholder group proposing for the development of a standard based on crucial needs. These include the need to address quality, safety or the performance of any product, process, or service.

Meanwhile, consensus among stakeholders is crucial to get the buy-in from all the parties that will be impacted by the new document.

These parties include the general public which is given the opportunity during the sixty (60) day public comments and consultations stage to make inputs for consideration in the drafting of the standard.

For standards to be effective, they must align with industry practices and garner acceptance from key players. Stakeholder support plays a pivotal role in

achieving this alignment, ensuring that standards are not only technically sound but also feasible for implementation across various sectors.

Beyond the Standards Development Process, stakeholders provide an ongoing feedback loop that is invaluable for the continuous improvement of standards. Through consultations, workshops and reviews, GNBS maintains an open dialogue with stakeholders, encouraging a dynamic exchange of ideas. This iterative process ensures that standards remain relevant, adaptable, and responsive to emerging trends and technologies.

As GNBS continues to advance the quality infrastructure in Guyana, the ongoing collaboration with stakeholders will remain the cornerstone of successful standards development, ultimately benefitting industries, consumers

and the nation as a whole.

Currently, there are over 500 National Standards available at the Bureau under various categories including Consumer Products, Labelling, Agriculture, Electrical Equipment, Foods, Construction, Tourism, Environment and Energy Management. These standards can be viewed on the GNBS Standards Portal: gnbsguy.com Finally, in 2023, twenty-nine (29) standards were developed with the input of stakeholders and approved by the National Standards Council. The Bureau anticipates the continued support of all stakeholders to the standards development process and beyond.

For further information, contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0064-66 or WhatsApp 692-4627. You can also visit our website:www.gnbsgy.org and our Facebook page: gnbsgy.

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Sunday February 11, 2024

TIPS TO MAKE YOUR SYNTHETIC WIG LOOK NATURAL Website: TIPS TO MAKE YOUR SYNTHETIC WIG LOOK NATURAL – Noble Hair

I

f you’re new to wearing wigs, especially if you choose a synthetic one, it may feel totally intimidating.

Why? The most annoying thing about wearing a synthetic wig is that it will look unnatural if not handled properly. We are not saying that synthetic wigs are not good, actually, they are cheap, colorful, and easy to maintain.

But the truth is that you get what you pay, a $30 artificial wig will never look as good as a quality human hair wig.

Tip 1: Before Buying a Wig, Measure Your Head.

While average size fits 95% of heads and many wigs have adjustable strap. There are also cases where you may need a certain size wig.

In that case, it’s helpful to have your measurements handy to get the best fit.

Follow these steps to measure your head with a cloth measuring tape: Measure from ear-to-ear over the top of your head, and across the hairline at your forehead.

Measure the circumference, wrapping the tape from the forehead, behind the ears, and around the nape of the neck.

Measure from your hairline at your forehead to the nape of your neck.

Tip2: Reduce Shine Synthetic wigs with too much shine appear fake and unnatural. To avoid a wig from being too shiny, sprinkle some hair powder on the wig and then brush it to make it look more natural.

This is understandable in synthetic wigs, as they are made of shiny fibers. Don’t worry though – our regular clients have a two-step trick to fix this: Simply, apply some dry shampoo or talcum powder to the wig.

Gently rub it in so that you can’t see any of the product, and done!

This instantly minimizes the shine while ensuring that your wig isn’t too dull (make sure you don’t apply too much product).

Check out how to make synthetic hair look real guide for a full explanation on the various methods you can try to make your synthetic wig appear as real as possible.

Tip3: Flatten Your Natural Hair Knowing how to make a wig look real starts before you put it on. This step may seem obvious, but it really is SO important.

The flatter your natural hair, the better your wig will fit. How you flatten your natural hair will vary depending on the length, density, and texture of your hair. Additionally, many

women choose to wear a stocking cap or other wig cap to secure their natural hair. The most common ways to prepare your natural hair for the perfect lace front wig install includes: • Braids • Cornrows • Low bun Tip 4: Pluck Your Wig Pre-plucked lace wigs have hairlines that are thin giving them the look of a natural hairline. In fact, many Lace Wig and Hair’s full lace wigs on the market that are pre-made will usually feature pre-plucked hairlines.

A pre-plucked wig means that your wig will have a natural hairline and the baby’s hair has been plucked.

If you have bought a wig that is not preplucked, do not despair. Good news is that you can do it yourself and save some money.

Plucking your wig is very easy and it is a great customization that everyone should do.

As soon as your new wig arrives, take a

back of your head, being careful not to pluck the lace.

4) Space out plucking so that it’s not too close together. For reference, consider the distance between the teeth on a wide-tooth comb.

5) Pluck hairs so that there is no obvious line where the lace starts. There should be a gradient effect, so hair goes from less dense around the hairline to full coverage.

6) If the hair is too dense at the part (and the part won’t change), lightly pluck to create a more natural-looking part.

Tweezing only the front does not remove any extra hair that may add to the bulk, and the final look would be compromised.

Be sure to tweeze carefully and not concentrate on any one area for a long time, as excess tweezing can lead to bald spots.

Here is the tutorial video with more

pair of tweezers and carefully pluck out a few strands.

Take a look at your natural hairline and where you part your hair. You can usually see some scalp as the hairs become sparser near the hairline. Plucking the hairs gives a more natural look.

To pluck, grab your tweezers and place the wig on either your head or a mannequin head. Please take a little bit of a mousse and start applying it around the hairline. Using a curling wand to do this will help the hair to push back. If the wig is pre-plucked, you needn’t to do more plucking, but if you don’t like it, be sure to cut off the so-called “baby” hair before proceeding.

Take some clear pictures of your natural hairline to use as your guide.

Put the wig on a stand and use pins on the wig to pin it down.

Start at your hairline near your ear and pluck hair away from your face, towards the

details: Tip 5: Trim the Lace to Fit Your Face A simple tip for how to make a wig look real is to cut the lace while the unit is on your head. Why? Lace wigs come with extra lace that covers your forehead so you can easily place and secure the unit. You’ll cut the excess lace before you secure the wig. To look like your natural hair, place the wig on your head and follow these steps: 1) Clip the hair back, away from your forehead so you can clearly see your hairline.

2) Cut the corner close to ear of f.

3) Adjust the unit until it’s placed where you want to secure it later.

4) Make your first cut in the middle of your forehead towards the hairline, being sure not to cut any baby hairs you want to keep.

5) As you cut along the hairline, avoid doing so in a straight line. Follow your natural hairline and its curves.

6) Clip the ear tabs, cutting away excess

hair and lace. Make sure to stay close to the ears for the most natural look.

Tip6: Buy Rooted Wigs Unless you naturally have very dark hair, it’s unlikely that your hair is just one colour without any gradients.

Most hair has a level of dimension to it, which your stylist calls “dimension.”

And that’s why wigs dyed with single colour look really fake.

Wigs with rooted colours, on the other hand, mimic the natural gradients in bio hair by blending several colours, which are a great option if you are looking for a natural ef fect, And if your favourite wig happens to be a flat colour, you can ask your hairdresser to style your wig with highlights and lowlights away from the wig’s base color.

Tip7: ALWAYS Line Up Your Wig with Your Natural Hairline If you don’t line up your wig with your natural hairline, your wig will never look natural. That’s why it’s super important that each time you put on your wig, you take the time to line it up properly.

To correctly line up your wig with your natural hairline, first put your wig on your forehead just above your eyebrows.

Next, slowly slide the wig back over your head, adjusting as you go, until the bottom of the wig hits the nape of your next.

Last, slide the wig forward just a bit until it hits your natural hairline, secure the straps, and style away!

When considering how to wear a wig and make it look natural, you need to make sure that the wig is positioned properly on your head, by lining it up with your natural hairline. It may take a little longer to put on, but it’s worth it to achieve as natural a look as possible. Follow these steps below to ensure it is lined up correctly: * Place your wig on your forehead just above your eyebrows. * Slide the wig over your head as usual, until you can feel the wig reach the nape of your neck. * Then, shuf fle the wig forward slowly until it reaches where your natural hairline lies. * Secure the wig in your preferred way, and then you are good to go!

Tip8: Blend It Out If you want to know how to make a wig look natural, this simple step is a gamechanger. Using powder and concealer you already have, lightly brush along the hairline and part. Then you can gently blot or dab the concealer into the lace with a makeup brush or even your fingers to get a more naturallooking hairline. This will blend the lace with the colour of your skin to give a more natural look and hide harsh edges.

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Sunday February 11, 2024

Junior page Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate love and friendship and the joy of having other people in your life.

It's a day of flowers, candy and cards decorated with hearts. This special day's origin, though, is not so rosy.

There are many theories on how Valentine's Day began, but the most noted one begins in Rome in the year 268. Emperor Claudius II wanted a fierce team of young men to fight in his armies. He found that when young men are in love or sharing their lives with a wife and children, they tended to be more cautious.

To insure large numbers of soldiers for his armies, Claudius outlawed marriage for those young men.

Claudius may have outlawed love, but he could not stop it. Young men and women still fell in love and wanted to become couples in the eyes of the church. A brave—and obviously romantic—priest named Valentine thought the law was horribly unjust.

Putting his life in danger, Valentine continued performing marriage ceremonies, doing so in secret and

hidden from the eyes of authorities.

Still, news of Valentine's secret ceremonies made its way back to Claudius. The priest was found and put to death on, as some versions state, on February 14th. Centuries later, the Catholic Church made that kindly priest a saint, one of three saints named “Valentine.”

No one knows exactly when St. Valentine's Day was first celebrated, but there is a poem in existence that is considered to be the first ever written Valentine's Day card. It was sent from a prisoner in the Tower of London to his wife in the year 1415.

First Valentine's Day Card My very gentle Valentine, Since for me you were born too soon, And I for you was born too late.

God forgives him who has estranged Me from you for the whole year.

I am already sick of love, My very gentle Valentine.

Today, greeting card companies estimate that over a billion cards of love and affection are sent each St.

Valentine's Day. It is perhaps second only to 'Mothers Day as one of the most popular celebrations of the year that results in the sale of flowers and cards.

While Valentine is a Catholic Christian saint, his death and the tradition of love that he created is celebrated world-wide by people of all religions. People send cards, flowers and candy in counties many countries around the world.

Some countries have banned St. Valentine's Day, but people in love show the courage of the doomed priest by celebrating the occasion. Repressive governments may confiscate all of the red roses available in the country. Still, no one can ever halt the flow of love and affection.

How to Make a Tissue Paper Heart Tree Centrepiece Use Branches To create the tree, use real or faux branches. I had a olive leaf garland that I found on sale, so I just cut that apart to make branches. You can cut some branches from a tree in your yard or use faux branches. Find a container to use. I used a simple white vase. Then put your branches in your vase.

Cut Tissue Paper Hearts I used two different colours of PINK hearts for my tree. I used about 8 layers of tissue paper and cut out three different sizes of hearts out of both colours of the pink tissue paper. But you can use ANY colour or multiple tissue paper colours

for your project. White would also be beautiful!

Attach the Hearts to Your Branches Once I had the hearts cut out, I used hot glue to attach the hearts to the branches. If you don't want to use hot glue you can use glue dots or even a dot of regular white glue.

Distribute the Different Sized Hearts on the Tree I used the largest size of hearts first. Once I had those attached, I worked my way through the hearts by size, ending with the smallest size hearts. I love using tissue paper for this project because the tissue paper is so thin, and the light comes through the tissue paper hearts which I think is so pretty!

Display Your Tissue Paper Heart Valentine Tree

FUN WITH POETRY

Reading

by Uncle Roy There are many things I need to do To help me in my learning, But the one I love most of all Is making a habit of reading.

Reading makes me learn new things, As well as to speak and write; I find lessons at school so much easier, As I get more of my work right.

Story books can be so much fun, As well as teach me new things; Newspapers also make me happy With all the information they bring.

So make the time to read each day, And you will feel so much better; You will become more confident of yourself, As your work at school becomes a pleasure.

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Sunday February 04, 2024

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TEEN TIME There is a special place in life, that needs my humble skill, A certain job I'm meant to do, which no one else can fulfil.

The time will be demanding, and the pay is not too good And yet I wouldn't change it for a moment -- even if I could.

and talents, what you really need from life, and determine your goals, both for the short time ahead, and for the long term.

You will find that when you do this, even when you are not deliberately working to achieve your goals, your subconscious mind will be always

There is a mark that I must leave, however small it seems to be, A legacy of love for those who follow after me.

you will find that your inner self will automatically be always urging you to move in the right direction so as to achieve your goals.

In thi9s effort, you will need to use your resources wisely.

Another thing we need to do is to ensure that we do not waste our time and resources in unnecessary activities, and to keep a focus on what is good and positive, rather than

The people who have achieved the greatest things in this world have always moved forward with passion. Follow their example and you will accomplish all you will ever desire in this life.

Slitherlink I

n a Slitherlink Puzzle, you connect horizontally or vertically adjacent dots to form a meandering path that forms a single loop, without crossing itself, or branching.

Thenumbers indicate how many lines surround each cell. Empty cells may be surrounded byany number of lines (from 0 to 3).

There is one unique solution, and you should be able to find it without

There is a special place in life, that only I may share, A little path that bears my name, awaiting me somewhere.

allowing the negative things to cloud up our actions and our mind.

Whatever you determine to d o s i n c e r e l y, y o u r subconscious mind will keep working on it, even when you are not thinking about it, to bring about the result you want.

This means that if you start on some project and do not have the confidence that you will succeed, your subconscious will obey and not work as hard to get you to your goal.

Have a positive outlook, move forward

guessing.

You may find it helpful to make small x's between dots that cannot be connected.

Need some solving help? Visit krazydad.com/slitherlink

There is a hand that I must hold, a word that I must say, A smile that I must give for there are tears to blow away.

There is a special place in life that I was meant to fill A sunny spot where flowers grow, upon a windy hill.

There's always a tomorrow and the best is yet to be, And somewhere in this world, I know there is a place for me.

Solutions to last week’s

Krypto

keeping you on the path to your dreams.

To more effectively achieve your ambitionss you should try to pursue them with passion. If you keep this always in mind,

There is a special place in life, a goal I must attain, A dream that I must follow, because I won't be back again.

CREATIVITY DOUBLE PUZZLE

W

hen you formulate a vision of what you should achieve in your life, and become excited about pursuing these goals, you will find that this will make it easier to make them possible.

Most teenagers, and even adults, do not take the trouble to look ahead and determine what they need to do to be successful, both on a long-term and shortterm basis.

As a result they go through life drifting along, and most times not only waste energy and time in activities not beneficial, but end up moving in the wrong direction and doing things that can get them into trouble.

Take some time and assess your special skills

PAGE 58

Caring for Your Mental Health Mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, act, make choices, and relate to others. Mental health is more than the absence of a mental illness—it's essential to your overall health and quality of life. Self-care can play a role in maintaining your mental health and help support your treatment and recovery if you have a mental illness.

About Self-Care Self-care means taking the time to do things that help you live well and improve both your physical health and mental health. When it comes to your mental health, self-care can help you manage stress, lower your risk of illness, and increase your energy. Even small acts of self-care in your daily life can have a big impact.

Here are some tips to help you get started with self-care: Get regular exercise. Just 30 minutes of walking every day can help boost your mood and improve your health. Small amounts of exercise add up, so don't be discouraged if you can't do 30 minutes at one time.

Eat healthy, regular meals and stay hydrated. A balanced diet and plenty of water can improve your energy and focus throughout the day. Also, limit caffeinated beverages such as soft drinks or coffee.

Make sleep a priority. Stick to a schedule, and make sure you're getting enough sleep. Blue light from devices and screens can make it harder to fall asleep, so reduce blue light exposure from your phone or computer before bedtime.

Try a relaxing activity. Explore relaxation or wellness programs or apps, which may incorporate meditation, muscle relaxation, or breathing exercises. Schedule regular times for these and other healthy activities you enjoy such as journaling.

Set goals and priorities. Decide what must get done now and what can wait. Learn to say “no” to new tasks if you start

to feel like you're taking on too much. Try to be mindful of what you have accomplished at the end of the day, not what you have been unable to do.

Practice gratitude. Remind yourself daily of things you are grateful for. Be specific. Write them down at night, or replay them in your mind.

Focus on positivity. Identify and challenge your negative and unhelpful thoughts.

Stay connected. Reach out to your friends or family members who can provide emotional support and practical help.

Self-care looks different for everyone, and it is important to find what you need and enjoy. It may take trial and error to discover what works best for you. In addition, although selfcare is not a cure for mental illnesses, understanding what causes or triggers your mild symptoms and what coping techniques work for you can help manage your mental health.

For other ideas for healthy practices for your mind, body, surroundings, and relationships, see the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Wellness Toolkits .

When to Seek Professional Help Seek professional help if you are experiencing severe or distressing symptoms that have lasted 2 weeks or more, such as: * Difficulty sleeping *Appetite changes that result in unwanted weight changes * Struggling to get out of bed in the morning because of mood * Difficulty concentrating *Loss of interest in things you usually find enjoyable * Inability to perform usual daily functions and responsibilities https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/caring-for-yourmental-health

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Scenes from the dual purpose farm.

Calcutta, Mahaicony - Where progress is inevitable

C

alcutta is a widely populated village that is often mistaken as part of its neighbour Catherineville.

The two are separated by the Burma Canal and the village can be described as a 'Tiny Bartica,' as it serves as a gateway to the villages along the Burma Road, all the way to the Mahaicony Creek.

The Waterfalls Magazine visited the area twice, in 2009, and 2019 and, there were a number of issues highlighted by residents there

at the time. Five years later the magazine decided that the trip to yet another “country side” location was needed after an entire week of city life, and day-to-day congestion.

To say one would be awestruck at how far the place has come, is an understatement. Buildings and homes have upgraded, the garbage situation along the Burma Road is still there, but it appeared to have toned down a bit, and there were a number of new places that

weren't there five years ago.

The lively community sports a number of adult recreational spots, of various atmospheres catering to the introvert, extrovert and the flamboyant. There were stalls which had fresh fruit and vegetables, a meat center has sprung up, and multiple snackettes have opened as well as a barbershop and two vulcanizing shops. Then there is the countryside version of KFC, a wash bay, an internet cafe and of course multiple grocers.

Mannnie's Vulcanizing chop Young entrepreneur, Elijah Williams, restocking his chicken.

The ever present Calcutta Primary and Nursery Schools adds to the vibrancy of the community while recreational activities can be done at the Community Center Ground. Worshippers can always drop in at the Orion Seventh Day Adventist Church and the Full Truth Tabernacle respectively.

The Waterfalls first stop was at Peppa's Pink Shop located on the northern side of the village, or in Guyanese terms the “waterside” since that's the direction of the ocean. The owner of the business Quamy Wilson also called “Peppa” was very busy, as he served customers their drinks.

He took a few minutes to talk to the Waterfalls and offered a Shandy free of cost as refreshment. The business which has a kitchen, and snackette, caters for the breakfast and lunch needs of villagers and passersby all weeklong. “I have this business like three years now.

It started during COVID because people needed a place to chill out during the day and when lockdown came, we couldn't go anywhere far cause by six o'clock you had to be home. I started it as a small fish shop doing fish and chips in the afternoon and selling some drinks,” he said.

Business was booming but there was still the feeling that things might change further down the road.

However, more than three years later business is still booming and he was able to establish the kitchen and snackette section.

The business is family run and they work shifts until closing time. “I come out with my wife and we open at six in the morning, my daughter-in-law takes over from me at four or five and she stays till the bar part closes. My wife heads home when she is sold out, and begins preparation or the next

Uncle Ezzie serving a customer.

Nickson getting ready to check a tire for holes

day.”

The string of small businesses on this side of the village was closed on Saturday, since most of the owners are Seventh Day A d v e n t i s t . H o w e v e r, residents explained that there were two other snackettes, a store that sells household décor and appliances, a bar and an organic produce stall.

If one skips over the public road to the southern side of the community, (Continued on page 70)

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Sunday February 11, 2024

Camille’s Academy launches inaugural AI4 Education conference — teachers and students across Guyana urged to tap into the benefits of new technology

CEO and Founder of Camille’s Academy Inc., Camille Deokie-Gorakh

I

n a world marked by technological advances, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as the newest wave of development offering a myriad of possibilities for personalizing learning, addressing the unique needs of each student, and providing educators with insights to optimize their teaching strategies.

As such, Camille’s Academy Inc (CAI), a leading provider in education within the private sector, collaborated with the Caribbean AI Institute last Thursday to launch the inaugural AI4Education Conference. The conference, slated to take place in April of this year, is being touted as the first-of-its-kind in the Caribbean.

Addressing the gathering of students and teachers at the launch of the conference at CAI’s Lusignan, East Coast Demerara location, were Nick Brown, the founder of the Caribbean AI Institute and CEO and founder of Camille’s Academy Inc., Camille Deokie-Gorakh.

Brown explained that the developed world is undoubtedly moving at a faster pace by embracing and using cuttingedge technology to its advantage.

Brown noted that Western countries are investing billions of dollars in learning how to apply AI. “In the Western Countries, AI is being used, whether it is in their governments, their educational systems, or their industries...” Brown posited. As

such, he urged teachers and students to embrace AI and make it par t o f their learnin g experience.

The Caribbean AI Institute founder emphasized that the objective is not to replace teachers or the learning process but to make it work simpler, thereby preparing learners for the future.

“As the world enters the Fourth Industrial Revolution, investing in AI is an investment in the future, we are moving into an unchartered future. The future that you guys will be growing up in is going to look radically different than the way the world looks today,” Brown said Brown advised attendees to brace themselves by utilising as much technology as possible in their daily lives, even though one

cannot precisely foresee where technology will go in the next three decades.

He continued, “By 2030, artificial intelligence is expected to replace many white-collar jobs. A lot of the jobs that we currently aspire to as future university graduates…call centres, BPO (Business Process Outsourcing). Those jobs are very likely to be replaced by Artificial Intelligence.”

As a result, the AI Caribbean Institute founder believes that it is important for educators to lead the way in adopting technology.

“Students learn through observations and teachers are the greatest role models. So, the more teachers and educators in this country who can adapt to using AI in their workflow, for curriculum design, for developing assignments, the more students will be empowered to use technology,” he asserted.

He noted too that while some individuals have approached AI with “resistance and fear” or under the notion that using AI in the classroom can lead to cheating, he disagrees fundamentally. He believes students should be encouraged to use AI to enhance their school work rather than to entirely rely on it.

“I think teachers must change

Nick Brown, the Founder of the Caribbean AI Institute addresses the launch the way they teach to accommodate the new technology that is there. Banning your students from using AI is probably one of the worst things educators can do…”

Brown said at present, AI tools exceed 5,000 with new techniques being introduced daily.

He noted that the mission of his organization is to provide developing nations like Guyana with AI development tools so they can be up to date with the swift pace of technological

progress.

Meanwhile, Deokie-Gorakh explained how AI would advance the educational system.

According to her, the CAI has been a leader in transitioning from the “traditional classroom” in light of technological advancements.

While there are concerns about AI replacing humans in several sectors Deokie-Gorakh assured: “The programme we are launching today is not to replace humans. We know that in a Continued on page 61

A section of the gathering at the launch of the inaugural AI4 Education

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Sunday February 11, 2024

PAGE 61

Exxon to drain almost a third of Liza, Payara fields by year-end ExxonMobil’s operations in the Stabroek Block are on track to deplete almost a third of the resources in the Liza and Payara fields by the end of 2024.

This pace of extraction has sparked concerns about just how long it will take for the company to deplete the oil there. Since December 2019, ExxonMobil, alongside its partners Hess and CNOOC, has been extracting oil at an increasing rate, with production at intense levels even when it was flaring worrying levels of gas in the first year.

The operational projects—Liza Phase 1, Liza Phase 2, and Payara—are currently producing.

Liza Phase 1 started production in December 2019, followed by Liza Phase 2 in February 2022, and Payara in November 2023. Together, these projects are expected to yield an accumulated 500 million barrels of oil by the end of 2024, according to Exxon’s Guyana Head, Alistair R o u t l e d g e , E x x o n M o b i l ’s disclosure of this production milestone is alarming, given that the combined oil-equivalent resources of these three projects is approximately 1.65 billion barrels.

This figure represents both oil and gas, with a predominant share attributed to oil. However, even when assuming that all is oil, it becomes clear that current production levels would deplete the fields much sooner than the 20-year period of each production license.

Liza Phase 1 produces up to 160,000 barrels, Liza Phase 2 up to 250,000 barrels, and Payara up to 230,000 barrels - daily. With a current production rate exceeding 600,000 barrels per day across these projects, this extraction velocity suggests that the fields’ reserves could be drained out in five years.

However, ExxonMobil has noted that oil fields do not maintain their peak production rates indefinitely. A gradual decline in output is expected as the fields

Camille’s Academy launches...

From page 60 school environment socialization… having that personal experience is very, very important. The human element will also be the key in ensuring that we produce quality leaders and we continue to provide quality education.”

The CEO noted the vast benefits that educators and learners alike can yield from AI tools.

“From personalized assistants for teachers, AI tutors for students, adaptive learning platforms that adjust to the pace of individual learners to AI-driven analytics offering real-time feedback and predictions on student performance, the potential for AI to transform education is immense,” she said.

become more depleted, which could extend the lifespan of these resources beyond simpler projections.

This is likely to be most evident when the Gas-to-Energy project is in full swing. However, the lack of public information regarding the anticipated rates of oil production decline leaves stakeholders in the

dark about the true longevity of Guyana’s oil fields.

The revelation that nearly a third of the Liza Phase 1, Liza Phase 2, and Payara fields will be exhausted by the end of 2024 raises alarms about the aggressive pace of resource extraction. Stakeholders, including transparency advocates, are likely to demand more detailed

information from ExxonMobil regarding the depletion rates and long-term management strategies for these oil fields. Such transparency is essential for evaluating the environmental impacts, economic benefits, and strategic planning necessary to safeguard Guyana’s oil reserves for future generations.

Further complicating this state of affairs is the anticipation of additional projects like Yellowtail and Uaru, each expected to contribute another 250,000 barrels per day, and a sixth project with similar capacity. These expansions are poised to increase total offshore production in Guyana to more than 1.3 million barrels per day.

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Sunday February 11, 2024

Jagdeo defends spending billions on failing sugar industry but refuses to raise teacher’s salaries As teachers around the country protested for increases in their salaries among other issues last Thursday, Vice President (VP) Bharat Jagdeo defended pumping billions of dollars into the failing sugar industry while refusing to raise the salaries of educators.

On Thursday at his weekly press conference at the Office of the President,

the VP said that the sugar workers are the “whipping horses” of racism.

The VP was asked by this publication about the government’s continued propping up of the failing sugar industry with multibillion allocations while refusing to pay teachers a better salary.

“The sugar workers are

the whipping horse because of racism. If we had terminated 7000 workers who are mainly Afro-Guyanese in anytime in this government, under the PPP government, everybody would be up in arms, but that happened under APNU and nobody pays attention to it,” he said.

“There are like minded persons who are continuously

pushing the racism and they cannot get out of that mindset,” he said, adding that it results in the sugar workers constantly being the whipping horse for the race argument. “Once the country’s economy was sustained by the “Sugar Levy” as it was responsible for nearly half of all revenue as the other sector were

failing,” he argued.

“When it sustained Guyana nobody spoke about that. We just sat here and said

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo

we’re giving $5B to the sugar industry this year in the budget but we have over $4.5B to subsidize electricity in Linden and Kwakwani and not a word about that so that they would pay cheaper rates we are paying the electricity bill. You take $4.5B and you divide it by the number of people who live in these areas, and you will see what (is) the per capita allocation they’re getting is, it runs over to $300,000 per person that they are getting from the treasury,” Jagdeo stated.

He noted that the PPP/C government does not give every sugar worker $300,000 and even though they are working, they do not make that amount of money.

The VP suggested that citizens, “contrast the experience with the bauxite industry how we treated bauxite workers in all of the areas. How we treated the public service. You know the irony of it is that they are saying that this government has ethnically cleansed the public service, and then say simultaneously that we are punishing the public service because it’s mainly AfroGuyanese. That is the contradiction, we have ethnically cleansed it but we are now punishing it because it’s mainly Afro-Guyanese, it’s disingenuous.”

At Thursday’s press c o n f e r e n c e , t h e Vi c e President dodged questions on whether the government will at some point engage the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) to negotiate increase in salaries and other conditions for teachers.

The VP instead claimed that the government has met about sixty-percent of the union’s demands as it relates to creating better working conditions for teachers. “Not everything has to be about wages, it could be about training of teachers, scholarships for teachers, it should be about housing for teachers,” he said.

He added that, “the 100 billion we spent on house lots, teachers will also benefit from that, the road we build for communities teachers will also benefit from that…”

Jagdeo made the notion even as the GTU marked day four of its nationwide teacher strike and protest action.

Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

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‘GTU not buying into cheap talks; teachers need proper salaries now’ – Coretta McDonald in response to President Ali’s promises

P

resident Irfaan Ali's promise to create the “best welfare package” for teachers four years after taking office should be seen as nothing but “dishonest”.

“The GTU doesn't buy into cheap talks. Talk can't buy anything. We need proper salaries provision for teachers, and we need them now, we need provision for when they go to the hospitals, provision for teachers when they go to the bank for mortgage and such matters,” General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), Coretta McDonald told Kaieteur News on Saturday.

She said that the Head of State has failed to address the salary plight of teachers

during the four years he has been in office and is just throwing “cheap talks” at teachers.

Teachers participated in a five-day countrywide strike last week demanding better salaries and working conditions.

On Friday, President Ali urged teachers not to down their tools but to be patient as his government has a comprehensive plan for all public servants. The President was quick to state that the execution of the plan would take some time and urged for patience.

“As I said to our teachers, our nurses, our public servants and I say to them now again that we are committed to giving you the best life possible,” President

GTU General Secretary, Coretta McDonald

President Irfaan Ali A l i s a i d a t t h e commissioning ceremony for a simulator facility at the Guyana Technical Training

College Inc at Port Mourant, Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne).

He continued by saying,

“I explained that we are going to work in an incremental way to ensure that you [teachers] have the

best welfare package,” the President said after stating “have patience.”In response, (Continuned on page 71)

Boy, 7, injured after house falls on him The house that fell on him

A seven-year-old boy is hospitalized at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after his rented house at lot 555 Haslington Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara (ECD) fell on him.

The child has been identified as Danielio Wilson. Wilson is suffering from injuries to his neck, head and other bodily parts.

Kaieteur News understands that the 7-year-old boy and his two siblings ages 9 and 4 respectively, were in the wooden structure that stood on stilts when a strong breeze was felt sometime after 11:00am causing the house to collapse.

The child's mother, Melissa Wilson, was not home at the time but told Kaieteur News that her husband and his brother were in the back yard when the house collapsed.

“Them hear the house mek creaks,” the woman said while adding that her husband immediately shouted for his children to leave the house.

The woman said that the children ran out of the house but as they were running down the stairs, the house started collapsing.

“The baby [the four-year-old child] get frighten and he run back inside,” Melissa told Kaieteur News.

According to the woman, the

An injured Danielio Wilson who is hospitalized at GPHC eldest child [a girl] made it to safety but Danielio was forced to jump from one of the stairs.

Unfortunately, he landed underneath the house and it came crashing down on him.

His father and uncle reportedly rushed to rescue him immediately.

With the use of a four-by -four wood, the men were able to pry a section of the collapsed house and

pull him out.

Melissa said, “When them pull he out, he was unconscious, dem had to revive him”.

Danielio reportedly began spitting blood and they was rushed him to GPHC where he was admitted.

Melissa is grateful that her two other children escaped unharmed and is praying that Wilson recovers quickly.

In the meantime, the family is forced to sit and sleep in their yard, in front of the collapsed house because they have nowhere to go.

Most of their furniture and appliances were damaged.

Melissa told Kaieteur News that their neighbour has been allowing her two children to sleep at their home but unfortunately, there is not enough room there for her and her husband.

Melissa's husband told this publication that he is renting the house.

“It's a wooden house so I think it might be around $300,000 to $400,000 to build back,” he related while noting that he neither his landlord can afford to rebuild the structure.

Given the state of affairs, the family is trying to prop-up the collapsed house so they could have

a roof over their heads until they are able to secure money to rebuild.

The man explained that his landlord promised to get some persons to assist him to prop-up the badly damaged house. He is hopeful that he can get some assistance soon since he and his wife are sitting in the yard all day and night.

The family told Kaieteur News that they have been forced to stay awake all night for fear that they would be attacked by thieves.

Persons desirous of assisting the Wilson family can make contact with them on mobile number: 6878783.

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sKaieteur weN ruetNews eiaK

Sunday Monday February May 02, 11,2022 2024

Man dies following boat Man granted collision at Moruca bail after busted A 30-year-old man died on Friday following a boat collision at the '99 turns' at Moruca, Region One. Dead is George Charles, 30 of the village of Warapoka, Moruca sub-region.

While information is sketchy, reports are that a 'fast boat,' whose owner is from the Pomeroon, was heading to Santa Rosa from the Barama River late on Friday afternoon when it collided with Charles' boat.

Charles was heading home to Warapoka at the time. He was rushed to the Kumaka District Hospital at Santa Rosa but succumbed on the way there.

Police are investigating the incident.

with 'ganja' on Croal Street A man was granted bail in the sum of $75,000 after he was caught with 101 grams of cannabis by police ranks in the vicinity on Croal Street at Stabroek, Georgetown on Wednesday.

Dwayne Wong made his first court appearance on Friday at the Georgetown Magistrates' Court, before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly, who read the charge to him.

Wong pleaded not guilty to the charge that stated he had in his possession 101 grams of marijuana.

The prosecutor related in court that Wong is known to the police. On Wednesday at about 08:15hrs, ranks acting on information, went to the location in the vicinity of Ibet Supreme, Croal Street, Georgetown. Upon arrival, police observed Wong sitting on a wooden bench with a bulky plastic bag near him on the said bench. He was

contacted by ranks, and a search was subsequently conducted on him. There was no discovery of any illegal articles on him, the prosecutor noted.

The ranks then enquired whether he was the owner of the plastic bag next to him, to which he claimed ownership.

As such, police then searched the particulars that were in the bag, and found a quantity of seed, leaves, and stems suspected to be cannabis.

Wong was then cautioned and arrested.

He was escorted to the Brickdam Police Station, where the suspected narcotics was weighed in his presence, which amounted to 101 grams of cannabis. He was subsequently placed in custody and later charged.

The magistrate placed Wong on $75,000 bail and he is scheduled to return to court on March 22, 2024.

Take Action to Avoid the Harmful Effects of Saharan Dust - CARPHA The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) on Saturday urged persons to protect themselves against adverse health effects of a Saharan dust plume, which has covered many parts of the Caribbean.

The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) in a Dust Bulletin dated February 9th, 2024 stated, “it is highly likely that particulate matter levels will be above the 24-hour outdoor air quality guidelines” as established by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Dr. Joy St John, Executive Director, CARPHA, explained “Saharan dust worsens air quality and increases the levels of particulate matter in the air. This can be hazardous, especially to small children, older adults and people with underlying lung conditions and chronic cardiopulmonary diseases”. Dr. St John added, “Saharan dust can also worsen the health symptoms of those

who suffer from asthma, allergies and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)”.

In light of the poor air quality levels, CARPHA is encouraging persons to take steps to avoid the harmful effects of Saharan dust. These include: * Stay indoors as much as possible and when outdoors, wear a dust mask (eg. KN95) * Utilise a HEPA filter indoors to purify air in individual rooms * Persons who use medications for pulmonary conditions should carry them at all times and use as prescribed *At the first sign of difficulty while breathing, seek professional medical advice immediately * For less severe symptoms, standard allergy medications such as antihistamines and steroid nasal sprays may alleviate symptoms

Sunday February 11, 2024

Kaieteur News

Man caught after stripping stolen car in Buxton On Friday evening, public spirited citizens at Buxton, East Coast Demerara saw several men around a Toyota motorcar aback the village.

When they confronted the men, they drove away from the area with the car, bearing registration PNN5023. Later in the evening the owners of the car reported that it was stolen by a man who they noted worked for the family.

The police were notified and the man, identified as Kevin Bhagwandin, was arrested. The police also found the car. The man is expected to face charges related to the crime.

Public spirited citizens captured this photograph of the car which was stolen from its owners.

CDB supporting regional food security thrust...

From page 15 cutting edge technology to enhance production.

Beyond human capital development, CDB is also pursuing cluster and value chain development focused on priority commodities and offering financing to small farmers and Micro, Small, and Mediumsized Enterprises (MSMEs). The Bank recently partnered with CARDI on a sweet potato, value chain project and has supported several initiatives for farmers focused on climate resilient agriculture with financing from the United Kingdom's Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.

Initiatives in trade through the ongoing EPA & CSME Standby Facility financed by the European Union are addressing challenges related to trade barriers, standards and

certification in 14 countries. In addition, the Bank is supporting projects to improve transportation, logistics, road and drainage infrastructure in response to climate change which has had significant impacts on the sector.

At the national level, Guyana, one of the largest producers of agricultural products in the region, and whose President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has been championing efforts to bolster agri-food trade, will receive the added benefit of two new initiatives to contribute to the Cooperative Republic's and CARICOM's longer-term food security objectives. Commenting on the project Agriculture Minister, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha, recently stated that these projects address critical areas needed for a reliable agri-food system.

PAGE 65

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PAGE 66

From page 14 quarter, she said this was US$7.8 billion, bringing its full expenditure on this category to just above US$26 billion for the full year.

“That’s a bit above the top end of our guidance range as we opportunistically accelerated drilling activity in our advantaged Permian and Guyana assets and entered the lithium business.”

Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2024, Mikells said Exxon expects slightly lower volumes of oil barrels across assets outside of Guyana. The Executive was keen to note that Guyana will play a critical role in offsetting those lost barrels as there are plans to ramp up production at Payara, the third development project in the Stabroek Block. That project is utilizing the Prosperity floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The production output for Prosperity is now at 220,000 barrels and will go beyond this before the end of the second quarter.

For 2024, Exxon said it expects average net production to be about 3.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (Moebd).

WEDNESDAY ‘It’s our bread and butter’ …teachers rubbish Govt. claims that strike for better salaries is political While the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) led strike action has been deemed political and unwarranted by the Ministry of Education and other state operatives, teachers on the protest line on Tuesday rejected this notion asserting that the action has more to do with their bread and butter.

On Tuesday teachers intensified their strike action across the various regions and the GTU shared images and videos via its Facebook page of hundreds of teachers taking to the streets in Region One, Two, Three, Four, Six, and Ten demanding better wages and working conditions through collective bargaining.

In Region Three, scores of teachers stood in front the Regional Education Office (REO) at Plantain

Walk West Bank Demerara with umbrellas and placards demanding that the Government engage the GTU on matters that pertain to their livelihoods. Devika Sugrim stated emphatically that she was protesting for her rights and was not strong-armed by the GTU to be out on the streets.

“I would like to make it clear to the public, the President, and the Minister of Education that nobody is bullying me or any of the teachers to be here to join this protest or strike. I was never coerced by anyone to do anything. This doesn’t have anything to do with politics.

This has to do with our bread and butter!” “Mr. President you need to come and listen to the cries of teachers. A lot of things are happening to teachers and that is why we are here,” she added.

Ms. Paul a retired teacher who was on the protest line on Tuesday explained that their many issues that teachers continue to face without any redress from the Ministry of Education. “For instance, they need to revive the formula they use to calculate gratuity. I retired after more than 20 years and all they gave me was $ 2 million and even a proper pension and I dedicated my life to this profession. It’s an injustice we have been receiving at the hands of the Ministry of Education all this time.”

Alicia Mangru shared that she is a trained and qualified teacher who completed her degree at the University of Guyana but is unable to get a promotion. “It has been more than two years now since I applied to be on the list of seniors and can’t get it. But you know what is funny the same Ministry of Education encourages teachers to qualify themselves and then when we do, it is not reflected on our salary scale. For you to get a promotion, you probably have to ask to be transferred to another school. It is frustrating and highly disrespectful,” the teacher explained.

Shauna Evelyn noted that she would rather be in her classroom working but the issues are too pressing to be ignored. “This is not about politics. Teachers are affected. We want to live and not just survive. In addition to us

Sunday February 11, 2024

Teachers at Orealla joined the protest action

needing a proper raise in salary, our working conditions need to be addressed. The toilet facilities in some schools are in such a poor state that it could trigger a health crisis,” she said.

Samantha Allicock, another teacher opined that the government is seeking to devalue teachers.

“Teachers are the most important public servants; we have to produce doctors, lawyers, nurses, ministers, and presidents. We are the chief stone in nation-building and the government should pay us as such.”

She noted that “teachers have been keeping their mouths shut and bearing up but now we are joining with our union to cry shame at the Ministry of Education for refusing to meet the Union to meet address our concerns, three years and counting.” “If they talk to the GTU like how they talk to GAWU, we will go home,” another teacher was heard saying. She noted that the government is quick to politicise their actions when they are the ones that have refused to engage with the GTU. “If it was GAWU, a friend of the Government they would have quickly found a way to meet their demands,” she said.

Protest continues In Georgetown, hundreds of teachers stood on Brickdam in front of the Minister of Education’s

o ff i c e . T h e t e a c h e r s t h e r e demanded an apology from the Minister, claiming that she accused them of misusing the funds given to purchase school supplies. “Priya’s eye pass teachers…We don’t thief.

We want our money!” the crowd shouted as vehicles at intervals honked their horns in support of their chants.

The GTU representatives and civil society members also joined the protest line. President of Guyana Trades Union Congress, Norris Witter noted that support of civil society is necessary for teachers. “They are playing the race card with the hope of alienating some teachers but the Union, not the teachers should back down.”

According to Witter, the stance taken by the Ministry to stop remittances of the Union dues is nothing but wickedness. “It is devilish it makes Satan appear to be an angel! The union will have to advise on the way forward but as it stands, they will not back down until teachers are given what they rightfully deserve,” he said.

Exxon says daily output now over 645,000 barrels of oil per day from 3 ships – aiming for 500 million barrels in total production

Teachers at Mabaruma protesting.

ExxonMobil Guyana Limited is now producing over 645,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) from three ships in the Stabroek Block—Liza Destiny, Liza Unity and Prosperity.

This was revealed on Tuesday

by Exxon Guyana’s Head, Alistair Routledge and his newly appointed Production Manager, Huzefa Ali. During a press engagement at the company’s Kingstown office, Ali told reporters that the Liza Destiny is producing about 160,000 bpd while the Liza Unity is producing 250,000 bpd. As for the Prosperity, a floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit that was commissioned in November last, it is already producing at 230,000 bpd.

Routledge was keen to note that the performance of the wells is a direct reflection of the hard work his team is doing, especially on the engineering front. He stressed that production increases never occur without strict safety reviews, risk assessments, and all of those being reviewed by the government and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“It’s all very carefully done to maximize the value of the production and the assets that we’ve all invested in together to make sure that we’re maximizing the value going forward,” said the Exxon official.

He noted that the company’s official goal is to get to a total cumulative output of 500 million barrels by year end, following startup of operations in 2019.

Regarding exploration, Routledge said the team has its eyes set on drilling the Red Mouth and Trumpet Fish wells, with the hopes that they are huge enough to support standalone projects.

Also on the cards for 2024 are five wells, some of which will properly test Guyana’s gas potential. Currently, Guyana’s gas (Continued on page 67)

Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

PAGE 67

From page 66 reserves stand at 17 trillion standard cubic feet of gas.

Routledge said this is spread across the entire block but hopefully this year’s drilling campaign will help to identify where most of the resources can be developed optimally.

While he could not give an exact value of the exploration and appraisal campaign, he noted that it can work out to US$60 million or even beyond US$75 million per well in some cases. He said the overall cost is dependent on a number of factors such as whether more tests are needed to understand a discovery.

Wi t h t h r e e p r o j e c t s i n operation, Exxon said it looks forward to progressing with Guyana’s Yellowtail and Uaru Projects for which development wells are already being drilled. He noted that discussions remain ongoing with government for the approval of Exxon’s sixth project, Whiptail, by the end of this quarter.

Collectively, Exxon said Guyana is on track to produce over 1.2 million barrels of oil per day by 2027 from the Stabroek Block.

THURSDAY Over 6000 teachers on strike, several schools closed – GTU Calls rang out on Wednesday for teachers to be paid better salaries as the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) strike action expanded on day three of efforts to achieve collecting bargaining.

Several civil society activists and prominent Guyanese joined GTU’s nationwide protest exercise.

The strike which commenced on Monday has resulted in over 6500 teachers up to yesterday taking industrial action and hundreds taking to the streets in protest, causing the closure of several schools in eleven districts across.

Kaieteur News Publisher, Glenn Lall joined those assembled outside the office of Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand on Brickdam on Wednesday where hundreds of teachers held their placards, chanting and calling for better salaries. Lall told the media: “When you look at what is going on in Guyana, it reminds me of what the Israelis doing to the Palestinians in Gaza, they are arresting the men, women, and children taking them and throwing them into large prison camps and blindfolding them. This is what’s happening in Guyana even worse; the leaders are allowing the foreigners to blindfold the country while they are eating away at the resources of this land.”

“This is at the crux of the issue that these teachers are facing here, no one, no Guyanese should ever have to come out into the streets to talk about wages; not the police, not the soldiers; not the nurses; no

public servants. We should have been collecting enough cash to triple these people salaries if they could only stop the blindfolding of the people and the stealing of the resources,” Lall pointed out.

Retired Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Rear Admiral, Gary Best who also stood in protest line on Wednesday condemned the government’s decision to exclude higher wages for public servants in the national budget. “These are the persons responsible for educating our children. Teachers are a critical part of our society so I stand in support of them because they are one of the pillars on which society will develop. More than that, the budget for 2024 is highly disrespectful; it is a failure to the teachers and the public servants in general.”

When you going to spend 60 percent of the budget on infrastructure and deny a real increase for teachers and other public servants, it tells you the government is inhumane and unfair. The Government is more concerned with managing poverty as opposed to reducing poverty and reducing inequalities!”

Kadesha Headley, the General Council Representative for South Georgetown related that the GTU continues to be unfazed by the ministry’s efforts to undermine the strike. “This has nothing to do with politics. These are real social issues

that affect teachers like debunching. The Ministry of Education put out a salary scale but that does not affect more than 60 percent of teachers. Many qualified teachers are not benefitting from a senior teacher’s salary,” she said.

Parents who came out in support of the teachers’ strike shared similar sentiments. “We are here because we believe our teachers deserve better. They work hard daily to make the lives of our children better so anything that affects them; affects us too. We would urge every sector of society to support them and stand in solidarity with them,” Randolph Perreira who stood outside the Ministry with the protestors said.

Meanwhile, General Secretary of the GTU, Ms. Coretta McDonald said that the Union is pleased with the support that the Union has received thus far in the struggle to achieve its goal. “Some of the teachers are fearful given the threats of the government but more and more teachers have been coming out. Today, we had a bigger crowd than yesterday, I believe the statements and letters by the Ministry of Education have angered them by deciding to stop paying the union dues,” McDonald asserted.

She continued: “I think our teachers are intelligent enough to know what is right from wrong.

They can look at their salaries over

the past five years and compare it with the inflation and they will be able to know if they continue on this trajectory for the next five years with the pittance of an increase that they are giving public servants, if they would be able to continue to live like this.”

She noted that Guyanese teachers are being paid less than their counterparts in the Region.

“Simply take a look at the salary scale of teachers in other Caribbean territories and compare them with what Guyanese teachers are being paid in an oil-producing country and then you will understand our frustration.”

The GTU General Secretary is adamant that with consistent and growing support from its members and other sections of society, the government will be left with no other choice than to yield to their demands.

Exxon’s focus now is making US$$$ and not updating Guyana on total barrels found in new discoveries Head of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, Alistair Routledge said on Tuesday said his company is no longer focused on providing updates on the number of barrels added to its resource base following a rash of discoveries in 2022 and 2023.

The Country Manager said

Exxon is more concerned with developing and monetizing those resources already discovered which totals 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Routledge gave the foregoing response following questions from Kaieteur News during a press conference on Tuesday.

This newspaper previously reported that the company’s last resource count, dated April 26, 2022, declared the recoverable resource for the Stabroek Block at nearly 11 billion oil-equivalent barrels, following discoveries at the Barreleye-1, Patwa-1, and Lukanani-1 wells. However, since then, Exxon has announced seven more significant discoveries.

In 2022, Exxon announced four more discoveries at the Stabroek Block – at the Seabob-1 and KiruKiru-1 wells in July of that year, followed by discoveries at the Sailfin-1 and Yarrow-1 wells in October. Moving into 2023, Exxon continued its successful exploration streak with discoveries at the Fangtooth SE, Lancetfish-1, and Lancetfish-2 wells. The Fangtooth SE well, particularly notable as an appraisal well of the Fangtooth-1 discovery, is part of consideration for ExxonMobil’s seventh Stabroek Block development.

Despite these advancements, ExxonMobil has maintained the (Continued on page 68)

Kaieteur News

PAGE 68

From page 67 same resource estimate.

Questioned on this, Routledge said the company’s focus is no longer on counting and announcing barrels added. ”In the early days of exploring the basin, Guyana was a frontier basin years ago and everyone was excited about the discoveries. In the early days, there was a focus on resources and how big the basin might be and how many reservoirs have we penetrated,” said Routledge.

He added, “But that focus has shifted to, of that discovered resource, can we monetize it and move it forward into economic development, and that is where we move more and more into the appraisal mindset, and (determining) what are the development concepts and how do we manage costs down to be effective and ensure these are robust investments for the long term …”

Given the foregoing premise, Routledge said Exxon is no longer talking about discovered resources anymore. He said, “We are talking about developments and can we move the resource we found to date forward, what additional work needs to be done to reduce risks associated with that resource, do we need to find more in a particular area so we have sufficient energy density to make an economic project. So, we are not going to talk about that number going (forward).

We are more focused on the projects.”

I n t e r m s o f G u y a n a ’s importance to his company and to a wider extent, the global energy market, Routledge said this is now greater than it was 10 years ago. He said Guyana has become a significant part of the low-emission energy equation for the world.

Routledge said too that Guyana’s growing importance is also reflected in the surge in global partnerships taking place on the military, diplomatic and economic fronts. He said, “…I think it is a healthy thing that we see those kinds of collaborations, and hopefully, that will continue.”

FRIDAY Jagdeo beats around the bush on meeting with GTU for salary negotiations for teachers Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday dodged questions on whether the government will at some point engage the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) to negotiate increase in salaries and other co0nditions.

The VP instead claimed that the government has met about 60 percent of the union’s demands as it relates to creating better working conditions for teachers. ”Not everything has to be about wages, it could be about training of teachers,

Sunday February 11, 2024

Classrooms of St. Aloysius, St. Therese's, and New Amsterdam Primary Schools

scholarships for teachers, it should be about housing for teachers. The 100 billion we spend on house lots, teachers will also benefit from that, the road we build for communities teachers will also benefit from that…” Jagdeo told a press conference even as the GTU marked day four of its planned nationwide teacher strike and protest action. The GTU has been lobbying the government for improved wages for teachers.

However, when he was asked about the 50 percent increase which he, [the Vice President] lobbied for, for teachers, while he was in Opposition, Jagdeo told the press that the public needs to forget about the 50 percent, since his government has been engaging union on other important matters.

“Forget the 50 percent; they [the union] couldn’t even meet with APNU, Coretta McDonald said it herself…. They had more engagements with us than they had under APNU… So I have great credibility with that and I have numbers to show.”

Further defending the decision to not to engage the union in the collective bargaining process, the VP said that the PPP-led government now views the union as a political tool. Jagdeo asserted: “Now that I had chance to go through in great detail with the state of the union with this state of affairs this is not a credible body anymore.

This seems to be a corrupt body and a political unit…”

The Vice President also sought to defend the ministry‘s position to stop remitting teacher monthly dues to the union. According to Jagdeo, the remittance of dues was

a courtesy that the government extended to the union. “So now, we are not going to support anyone who is going to divide our people for a political reason,” he added.

Govt. has means to pay teachers better Meanwhile, in a statement on Thursday, the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Opposition party, noted that with prudent management of the country’s financial resources, it is entirely feasible and possible to allocate more funds to dedicated public servants, including, teachers, nurses, doctors and disciplined servicemen and women.

The APNU/AFC noted that a careful analysis of the g o v e r n m e n t ’s r e c u r r e n t expenditure, which is where wages and salaries are catered for in the budget, reveals significant room for optimization and reallocation of resources to pay all public servants a significant increase. “The current regime’s recurrent expenditure in 2024 amounts to $480 billion, a substantial sum. By scrutinising budget lines and identifying areas of with excessive expenditure… it becomes evident that prudent management can yield substantial savings without compromising essential services or benefits.” ”For instance, if we maintain certain budget lines at their 2023 levels, where justified, or even consider a 5% increase, we could redirect approximately $20 billion towards improving the lives of hardworking taxpayers in Guyana.

This can be achieved without imposing undue strain on the overall budget sum of $1.146

trillion,” the Opposition party posited in its statement.

Empty classrooms, big crowds – as teacher’s strike intensifies On the fourth day of the nationwide teachers’ strike, solidarity soared as hundreds more educators joined the cause, amplifying calls for improved salaries and working conditions.

The strike, which began on Monday is aimed at bringing Government to initiate discussions with the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) to improve teachers’ salaries and other working conditions. Mark Lyte, President of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), yesterday noted a doubling in crowd size. ”A lot of teachers are outside for four days, the children are

suffering who would want children not to be taught so this is not really prudent for this to go on longer,” he said. Lyte continued by saying, “Well corporate Guyana is behind us, we have received so many calls and so many support from people of all walks of life, you will very well have some parents in this crowd…they are all showing solidarity to the teachers.”

The GTU President in a message to the Government said, “It would be wise to try and end this earliest.”

Teachers showed up in their numbers to protest, in front of the Ministry of Education office located on Brickdam.

From Essequibo Coast, Region Two to Linden Region 10, teachers echoed chants for fair compensation and respect for educators’ vital role in s o c i e t y. N o t a b l y, e v e n a s accusations of political motives surfaced, teachers stood firm in their pursuit of a livable wage, emphasizing the nonpartisan nature of their struggle.

The crowd in Essequibo Coast saw a notable increase with over 250 persons including teachers protesting in front of the Regional Education Office in Cotton Field, Region Two. According to a live video documenting yesterday’s strike action, several head teachers joined the protest.

“Slippers on the ground, we ain’t backing down, we don’t want lotus Viton but collective bargain, with our Union you must engage…” the chorus for one of the songs the teachers sang.

“When Ali (President Irfaan Ali wasn’t president he know what we should get but now he turn president it seems like he forget,” the teachers chanted.

The teachers gathered underneath a benab as they sang and called on the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand and the government to meet with the Union and have a civilised discussion on increased wages for teachers. Moreover, GTU’s (Continued on page 69)

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

From page 68 General Secretary, Coretta McDonald joined the teachers in Essequibo highlighting the struggles teachers face in Guyana.

McDonald explained that for the past four years the Union has submitted their proposals to the government for increased wages and salaries for teachers.

However, she noted that the government continues to push the matter aside while teachers are suffering. “Now it’s your turn to submit a proposal.

Tell us what you like and don’t like let’s sit at the table and talk like intelligent people,” she said. In her address to the Essequibo teachers, McDonald underscored that the Government continues to push the narrative that the strike is politically motivated, however, she noted that teachers protesting to be paid a livable wage has nothing to do with politics.

“We will continue this fight for as long as you have to carry it…We just wanna ensure that our families live comfortable,” she added.

“We get pay today and we bruk today…” she chanted.

Additionally, the teachers also garnered support from the business community and others, which saw donation of several items. On Wednesday, the teachers started cooking providing eatables for the teachers who come out to voice their concerns.

In Linden, Region 10, day four of the protest action also saw an increased crowd compared to the previous days. Teachers took to the street in the mining town, holding placards and dressed

in orange attire, while other teachers chanted through the streets, ‘Slippers on the ground and we ain’t back down” Meanwhile, while joining the protest in Linden on Thursday, Kaieteur News understands that there were teachers all the way from interior villages of Region 10 such as Ituni and Kwakwani.

SATURDAY ‘No need to down tools, have patience’ – Pres. Ali tells teachers President Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Friday assured teachers protesting for better salaries that there is no need to down tools; they just have to be patient.

During his speech at the commissioning ceremony for a simulator facility at the Berbice Oil and Gas college, the Head of State sought to address how his government is going to “fix the welfare” of not only teachers but also public servants including doctors and nurses.

“I said this to them then, that listen, we are going to commence the process of fixing your welfare but I wanted you to understand and Alistair (Alistair Routledge ExxonMobil Guyana Head) is here,-we suffer from our own good news sometimes- everybody believes that all the resources are available now (but) in 2027 then is when the real growth in revenue coming in would be seen in the country,” Ali pointed before adding “And I said to our teachers, our nurses, our public servants and I say to them now again that we are committed to giving you the

best life possible.”

He continued that he is adamant that “the present situation with the teachers has been overtaken by political expediency” because he had explained to them, public servants, nurses and doctors that his government is “going to work in an incremental way to ensure that they will have the best welfare package in the region” but it will take time.

“You don’t need to down tools because you are pushing at open doors, we are committed to this but you have to have patience”, Ali said.

He noted that some interventions and measures will be coming by the end of this year because his government will be conducting a total evaluation for all categories of workers.

Ali iterated that his government wants to provide the best possible life for all workers but they have to give a little too and that little according to the President is patience.

Attempts were made by Kaieteur News to contact the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU)- the body leading the protest/strike-for a response to President Ali’s comments but they were all futile.

Teachers to continue strike until Govt. meets with Union to discuss improved wages The fifth day of the nationwide teachers strike continued with fervor as educators in Georgetown stood resolute in front of the Ministry of Labour on Brickdam, Georgetown, demanding attention from the government regarding

Scenes from the teachers’ protest action in Georgetown

PAGE 69

President Mohamed Irfaan Ali

their long-standing plea for better wages.

In a demonstration marked by chants and determination, teachers expressed their steadfast commitment to the cause, emphasizing that until the Government of Guyana addresses their concerns regarding inadequate salaries and working conditions, classrooms across the nation will remain empty.

The strike, initiated on Monday, aims to compel the government to engage in discussions with the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) to enhance teachers’ salaries and overall work environment.

Speaking with Kaieteur News during the protest on F r i d a y, M s . M a r i s k a Williams, the 1st VicePresident of the GTU, lamented the lack of engagement from government officials, including Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, while highlighting the urgency for dialogue to resolve the ongoing strike.

The teachers reiterated their unwavering stance, declaring their refusal to return to classrooms until their demands are met through meaningful discussions with the government.

This sentiment was echoed by Williams. “So, while they have recognised that we have gave them a timeframe, the song that is being sung by all teachers is that we are not returning to the classrooms…unless the government of the day meets with the Guyana Teachers Union,” she said.

She explained that while the government has been downplaying the impact the

teachers’ strike has on the day-to-day operations of the schools, she highlighted that most classrooms are empty and even the students’ attendance is low.

“And soon you will hear the parents start crying too,” she added.

Furthermore, teachers highlighted the stark irony of Guyana’s status as an oilrich nation, lamenting the lack of tangible benefits for its citizens despite revenues being generated from oil.

They called on the Irfaan Ali ledadministration for equitable distribution of wealth and expressed frustration over the disparity between the prosperity enjoyed by foreign entities and the economic challenges faced by local residents.

“This is an oil rich country, people from other countries are coming, their employees from different countries are coming here and they are boasting about their money and stuff they are receiving from our oil rich country and we the Guyanese people are not benefiting from that,” a Miss Natasha said.

She continued, “And it is very sad that other people can come and benefit from our oil and we the loyal citizens of Guyana and we are not benefitting.”

The educators highlighted the teachers’ salary scale that was posted by the Education Ministry.

Most asserted that their takehome pay does not adequately meet their basic needs, leaving them financially precarious.

Miss Natasha, told this p u b l i c a t i o n , “ We t h e teachers are out here on strike because our salaries are not enough, we all know that cost living is on the

increase, we have rent to pay, kids to send to school and bills to pay…” “ Te a c h e r s a r e s t i l l feeling the squeeze, we get p a y t o d a y, w e b r u k tomorrow, it very hard on us those who feels it knows it…

On top of that when you subtract rent, grocery money, money to take care of your children you have nothing left,” she added.

Miss Natasha said too, “We have to be begging persons for assistance from overseas, you have to be doing more than one job, and we are tired so that is the reason why we are striking for ourselves and our families…”

Moreover, rejecting assertions of political motives behind the strike, the teachers clarified that their primary objective is to secure fair compensation for their labour and ensure a dignified standard of living for themselves and their families.

Reference was also made to the 2018 industrial actions undertaken irrespective of political affiliations, underscoring the nonpartisan nature of the current protest.

Reference was also made to statements made by President Irfaan Ali during his tenure as an opposition frontbencher as he addressed the National Assembly and said, “What about the nurses, the teachers, the police officers, aren’t they equally important…?”

The teachers used that to call on President Ali to fulfill his promise to them.

Moreover, amidst the ongoing strike, teachers expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support from members of the public, citing donations of beverages and snacks as tangible signs of solidarity with their cause.

They underscored the importance of grassroots support in sustaining their efforts and reaffirmed their commitment to advocating for improved working conditions until their demands are addressed.

A teacher said, “If you look carefully, we would have gotten beverage and snacks. Since we started on Monday public spirited persons have started to donate. So, we have been getting support from the ordinary man in the street and those who believe our industrial action is very much just.”

PAGE 70

Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

Calcutta, Mahaicony From page 59 he/she will encounter a number of other shops, most of them belonging to a name that would come up quite often in conversations; the Wi l l i a m s f a m i l y. T h e Williams' are considered a large family in the area and are involved in everything from business to farming.

First stop on this side of the village was at Jacqueline's Corner Shop located on the right side of the when one turns into Burma Road. It is owned and operated by Jacqueline Williams and she has been on this spot for around the last 20 years or so. “I have been here a long time and this is something that I love to do, to be able to provide as service 7 days a week and we open late as well,” the smiling owner explained.

The business sells snacks, confectioneries, drinks, bread and pastries.

A little distance away the Waterfalls encountered a structure that appears to be under construction. It is called the “Blue Shop”. It appears that naming businesses after colors was a trend as the Waterfalls trekked through Calcutta.

The owner, overseas- based Guyanese Ryan Wayne better known as “Pyan” or “Shabba,” was there and stopped to give the Waterfalls a quick tour of his business. It is considered an adult chill spot and sports an impressive bar for a countryside hangout. “I am not quite finished, but you can come back Sunday for the Pre Valentine hangout and see how we do things country style,” he said laughingly.

Farming and poultry rearing dominates the economic activities here and luckily the Waterfalls was able to get a first-hand view of the operations on a dual purpose farm in the area. The farm belongs to Rudolph Williams and it has been in operation for years.

“This is what I love farming and I have been doing this for a long time.

After I started my family I wanted to be closer to them so I left the job at OMAI and I started planting greens.

Sometime after chicken come into the mix,” the seasoned farmer explained.

His teenage son Elijah seems to be following in his father's footsteps as he also farms, wholesaling his produce, and rears chicken to supply his meat center business. For someone who

hasn't reached the age of 20, he seems to know exactly what he wants. Even though the young man has a number of Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) subjects under his belt, he said it was never his desire “to work for nobody.”

Heading back out of the Burma Road area and further down into the village the Waterfalls stopped at the 'biggest' grocer to pay Uncle Ezzie a visit.

The elderly man was busy serving his customers and while doing so, he told the Waterfalls that he had the business since 1974, an inheritance from his parents.

Ever since then he has been serving the community, providing a number of services including distilled water, cooking gas, grocery, etc.

A little distance away the Waterfalls stumbled into Mannie's Vulcanizing, the first vulcanizing shop on one's right when headed to Georgetown, immediately after the school street.

Nickson, his son, was hard at work but was kind enough to pause and provide a quick history lesson.

“Daddy had this place like 24 years now and as soon as I finish school it became my permanent job, because he taught me everything he knows.” The business offer services including welding, servicing, patching of tires and machinery repairs.

The last two stops were made to Jobado's Chicken and Chips and Terrence's Delight. Both offer fried chicken and chips or fried rice. Though they weren't open at the time of the visit, villagers gave a rundown of how the business operates.

Jobado's would open at 16:30hrs until the food is sold out. One could grab dinner any time at Jobado's.

Terrence's Delight has a 'KFC like' menu, offering a variety of wings, tenders, burgers, chicken, macaroni and cheese and also pastries.

One can order for pick-up, dine-in or take-out.

Surprisingly, they also serve breakfast, Guyanese style.

When compared to previous visits, one can say that this village is going places and its progress is inevitable.

The next time one is tired of city life, he/she can take a trip to the countryside and visit Calcutta. But don't forget to try the chicken. Be sure to check out the Waterfalls next week for out next village stop folks!!!

Sunday February 11, 2024

Kaieteur News

Four submit bids for construction supervision of Mabaruma & Morawhanna stellings

F

our consultants have submitted bids to supervise the continued construction of the Mabaruma and Morawhanna Stellings in Region One. The four companies are CB & Associates Inc., Caribbean Engineering & Management Consultancy Inc., Kalitech Inc., and SK

Engineering & Associates Inc. Kaieteur News had reported that the Ministry of Public Works is currently upgrading and constructing stellings in Region One to accommodate the new US$12.7 million MV Ma Lisha ferry which is already plying the North-West to Georgetown route.

Ministry of Health Supply and delivery of janitorial supplies for program 1 to 8.

Below are the companies and their bids: Ministry of Public Works Consultancy services for construction supervision of the Mabaruma and Morawhanna stellings in Region One. (Lot2).

Protected Areas Commission Provision of Audit Services.

Maintenance of air conditioning units.

‘GTU not buying into cheap talks; teachers need proper...

From page 63 McDonald said that the President should have at least had the courtesy to set a date and time when his government will address the salary plight of teachers.

“I’m hearing the President saying that there will be a best welfare package for teachers …in time… I would be happy for the President to put a definitive time when he will address the issue because which time is he really referring to? … it’s been four years,” McDonald stated.

She continued, “Teachers are living now;

teachers don’t want to hear about in some time in the future.. out there…And we are talking about giving these teachers a proper salary package, so what is this best welfare package that the President is talking about.

First, he told teachers about a comprehensive package just the other day, I want to ask the question what has happened to the comprehensive package that he is offering teachers…”

McDonald said the President’s utterance should be interpreted as ‘empty promises.’

“I think the President is

being vey dishonest. I think that the President knows a few words so he repeats them very often.

You can’t claim to love teachers and you are talking a best welfare package at a time when teachers have been languishing with the high cost of living.

These teachers have families too,” the Union Head said.

She reminded President Ali that talk is cheap and it is his actions that matter.

“The President just jumping around and playing around with words...I think it is very disrespectful to teachers,” McDonald

posited while noted that even more disrespectful is the government’s stance to bypass the GTU. “The President has failed to address the executive of the union.

Rather than address the union, he conveniently chose to select 100 teachers to go and have lunch with him at State House… there is nothing legal about that, because there is one body that is registered to speak on behalf of teachers in this country and that is the GTU,” McDonald stated.

The teachers’ strike is scheduled to continue this week.

PAGE 71

Tobago coasts in danger after sunken boat causes...

From page 19 H o w e v e r, i t w i l l b e relatively dark by the time they get here with their vessel. So, we had to go ahead and utilise experienced and PADIcertified divers from right in Tobago to begin some of the discovery for us. Because time is of the essence,” Augustine said.

According to Augustine, Tobago’s Department of Natural Resources and the Environment coordinated the response from land, while the T&T Coast Guard coordinated the response at sea “to ensure that we can mitigate against further environmental damage.”

The boat, which has unidentified origins and cargo, capsized sometime overnight Tuesday into yesterday and is stuck on Cove Reef, prompting concerns about the reef’s health as oil leaks.

However, given that the response had just begun, officials could not provide a preliminary assessment.

Augustine said, “We can’t, at this juncture, give you with certainty some of those details you’re asking, and that’s why we have to send divers down.

They will tell us whether it has reached the depths to where reefs are in the area and give us a quantified kind of form, what the environmental impact has been about this issue.”

Augustine also attempted to allay fears for those concerned about Tobago’s fish stock, as no one should be making any catch in the area. He said most fisherfolk fish miles out at sea, “where they’re normally safe to eat.”

He said, “I wouldn’t want to alarm to the extent of saying that people should not buy fish around the island because it’s not safe to eat. That’s not necessarily the case. Just avoid that area.

And I assure you that most of our fisherfolk are responsible members of the industry. They will not go fishing in the midst of the oil spill; they will go distances much further away. So yes, you can safely continue to engage your local fishermen.”

According to TEMA and the THA, several areas are in the crosshairs of oil moving onshore based on its current trajectory. Augustine said oil will impact Lambeau and Rockley Beaches.

“There is a possibility that the Magdalena area may be impacted as well.

We saw signs of it coming up to the roads to what is known as coming up to the port of Scarborough,” Augustine said.

For those wishing to take a trip to southwestern To b a g o , A u g u s t i n e cautioned against it.

“Let me warn fisherfolk, those with vessels, jet skis, s w i m m e r s , a n d whomever, please avoid the area as much as possible. Don’t go purposefully sightseeing or sailing into the area. It’s not an opportunity to go sightseeing.”

As oil and fuel comes up onto the shoreline, he also cautioned people to avoid the areas for recreational use. “But we will be moving as quickly as we can move to take care of the oil spill,” he said.

PAGE 72

Sunday February 11, 2024

Kaieteur News

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From page 06 large underground water pipes.

“We get water here once every 15 days,” Yusuf alAyoti said. “The water is dirty. Our children are inflamed and their teeth are eroded from the dirty water.

There is sand in it, and it’s very salty.”

After four months of war, the makeshift solutions for bridging the hunger gaps are wearing thin. And there are few ways to restock Gaza’s larder.

The territory was reliant on food aid before the war; now much of its agricultural industry has been ruined or abandoned.

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liner will be informing its passengers that the tours will not be affected, the packages they purchased will not be affected.

“The only effect will be the fact that they will be docked alongside a massive oil spill clean-up effort, and that will be made clear to the passengers even as they dock in Scarborough on Sunday. If that changes, there’ll be a subsequent release to let you know that that reality has changed.”

He said research indicated the Gulfstream vessel was built in 1975.

There was also another vessel incident, this time at Studley Park, where rough waters proved a challenge for a barge loaded with sand which was trying to dock.

The barge was observed drifting near Mt St George on Thursday night.

Junior parade cancelled The Junior Parade of the Bands, usually held on Carnival Saturday in Scarborough, was cancelled yesterday because of the oil spill.

The Tobago Festivals Commission said the decision was made following a highlevel meeting with team officials, Augustine and deputy

chief secretary Dr Faith B.Yisrael.

It was also noted that the Junior Parade of the Bands, scheduled for tomorrow in Roxborough, will still take place and all bands previously scheduled to appear in Scarborough today will be accommodated in Roxborough.

Chairman of the Tobago Band-leaders Association Dianne Mccrimmon was not supportive of today’s cancellation of the Junior Parade of the Bands in Scarborough. Mccrimmon told the Express she was called on Thursday by acting chief executive of the Tobago Festivals Commission Janelle Drysdale-Job, who indicated the decision was made to cancel the event today.

“I feel hurt about it because I am wondering how you are saying it is such a crisis, is a disaster, but all food places selling food, the vegetable shops, the bar on the Esplanade, that whole stretch go down in the usual parade area, even the grocery is open. I don’t understand that,” Mccrimmon said.

She said she asked about an alternative venue for the children to play mas but was told no.

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From page 18 after lunch (yesterday) and they are asking how can (they) help,” Stewart said.

Additionally, Augustine said from the satellite imagery, the leak was observed moving from East Tobago to west.

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So that meant that this was overturned for awhile, it was drifting for a while,” he said.

Oil booms have been set up to prevent the interisland ferries being affected by the oil spill while a cruise ship with approximately 3,000 passengers is set to dock tomorrow in Scarborough.

“I spoke with Mr Carvalho, who is the agent for the cruise ship, and he has indicated...that the cruise ship will be docking on Sunday, that’s a large vessel carrying over 3,000 passengers, notwithstanding, he has made it clear that the cruise

the agricultural land in the central region of Deir al-Balah has been damaged. This includes an olive press and farmland belonging to Bassem Younis Abu Zayed.

“It looks like the aftermath of an earthquake,” he said. “The destruction is vast, covering neighbouring buildings and farm animals. Even if we manage to restore the mill, 80-90% of the olives have gone. It’s not just a loss for this year, it’s a loss for the next several years.”

Further south, in the border town of Rafah, more than a million people displaced by the fighting elsewhere now jostle for space with the town’s 300,000 residents.

Israel’s army regularly publishes what it says is recent footage of busy markets and restaurants in Gaza’s southern centres. A majority of the 114 aid missions to southern areas of Gaza managed to get through last month, but residents and aid agencies say many people are still going hungry, and a public health crisis is looming with a lack of shelter, sanitation and medical care.

Aid can be blocked by fighting, bureaucracy or rubble. Earlier this week, a food convoy waiting to head north in Gaza was hit by naval gunfire.

On Saturday the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees accused Israel of using financial restrictions to block a month’s worth of food for

more than a million Gazans.

UNRWA said more than 1,000 shipping containers from Turkey were being held up in a port, telling the AP news agency that a local contractor was ordered by customs authorities not to process any UNRWA goods.

Israel has not responded but on Thursday, far-right finance minister Belazel Smotrich ordered the cancellation of customs and other tax relief for UNRWA, saying Israel “will not give tax benefits to terrorist aides”. Israel has accused UNRWA staff of participating in the 7 October attacks.

But deliveries are also complicated by the growing desperation of Gaza’s people, says Matt Hollingworth.

“We need the law and order issue resolved, so that we’re not having to negotiate our way through crowds of desperately hungry people, to get to other people that we’ve yet to reach,” he said.

“It’s probably the level of helplessness that worries me.

People have lost hope.”

A deal between Israel and Hamas is seen by many as the only way to get more aid into Gaza, and get Israeli hostages out.

As Israel bombs Rafah, ahead of a widely expected ground offensive there, leaders on both sides are under pressure to end the suffering of people trapped in Gaza their enemy’s, and their own.

Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

PAGE 73

Chinese Spring Festival Greetings in the New Year of the Dragon F

ebruary 10th, 2024, marks the Chinese Spring Festival in the Year of the Dragon.

On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Guyana, I'd like to avail this opportunity to extend our warmest greetings and wishes to all Chinese compatriots and Guyanese friends.

Spring Festival, the Chinese Lunar New Year, is the oldest and the most important traditional festival in the Chinese culture.

It's a holiday featuring family reunion and good wishes for the coming year, which carries the common values of humanity such as harmonious family, social inclusiveness, world peace and sound coexistence between man and nature.

It's celebrated in China and around the world. Some rough estimates suggest that Spring Festival is a public holiday in almost 20 countries, a UN floating holiday and celebrated in various ways by about one-fifth of humanity. Spring Festival activities have been organized in nearly 200 countries and regions, bringing joy to people around the world.

Spring Festival is no strange

for Guyanese friends.

Last year, the Chinese community held the Guyana 2023 Chinese Spring Festival Temple Fair in National Park, Georgetown, where more than 2,000 friends from all walks of life, including Hon. Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret'd) Mark Phillips, attended the celebrations.

Tomorrow, the Chinese Association of Guyana and the Confucius Institute at the University of Guyana will hold the 2024 Chinese New Year Gala, which is highly anticipated by local friends.

2024 is the Year of the Dragon. Last month, the word “Chinese dragon” was included in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Unlike the winged, firebreathing evil dragon in Western mythology, the Chinese dragon symbolizes auspiciousness, fertility, wisdom and strength, and serves as the totem of the Chinese nation.

Last year, the Zhejiang Wu Opera Troupe from China visited Guyana and performed a wonderful dragon dance in the National Cultural Center, winning numerous rounds of

applause and cheers from the audience.

The year 2023 has been an uplifting and fruitful year for the Chinese people in terms of overcoming difficulties and making progress.

China achieved a smooth transition in its COVID-19 response efforts. With a GDP growth of 5.2% in 2023, the Chinese economy has sustained the momentum of recovery, providing a strong impetus to the global economy. China has made major breakthrough in science and technology.

The China-made C919 large passenger airplane entered commercial service. The Chinese-built large cruise ship completed its trial voyage.

The Shenzhou spaceships are continuing their missions in space. Products designed and made in China such as mobile phones and new energy vehicles, are highly popular with consumers.

We successfully held the Chengdu FISU World University Games, the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation among other diplomatic events.

The Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI) and the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) proposed by President Xi Jinping have gained broader support, uplifting China's enhanced international influence, enhancing China's capacity to steer new endeavors, and boosting China's moral appeal in the new era.

Guyana is also highly commendable.

In 2023, Guyana has not only maintained rapid economic growth, but also made significant progress in infrastructure development, betterment of people's lives, and social security, etc.

Holding the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council and CARICOM c o n c u r r e n t l y, G u y a n a ' s international visibility and influence has been further enhanced.

As Foreign Secretary Hon. Robert Persaud wrote, small

Her Excellency Guo Haiyan, Chinese Ambassador to Guyana states can be meaningful actors in global governance. China supports Guyana in playing a greater role in international and regional affairs, and stands ready to work with Guyana to contribute to world peace, security, prosperity and progress.

Last year was also a year in which China and Guyana continued to consolidate relationship and expand cooperation.

President Xi Jinping met with President Ali on his visit to China, ushering in a new chapter in China-Guyana friendship.

Exchanges resumed, cooperation accelerated, and projects such as highway, bridge, hospitals and hotels progressed smoothly.

Last year, we also celebrated the 170th anniversary of the Chinese arrival in Guyana and the 30th anniversary of the Chinese Medical Team in Guyana.

As the saying goes, “A year's plan starts with spring.” Recently, the Guyanese government unveiled ambitious development plans, launched several new projects and will host the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo 2024 and the 46th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government CARICOM this month. These busy schedules signify a good momentum of Guyana's advancement of its development and diplomatic agenda in 2024.

For China, 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and a critical year to fulfill the goals and tasks in its 14th FiveYear Plan for Economic and Social Development.

Next month, the Chinese government will unveil its development goals for 2024 at the Two Sessions, which is highly anticipated by the world.

In terms of our bilateral relations, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Confucius Institute at the University of Guyana, which is an important milestone in cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Guyana is China's good friend and important partner. In 2024, China is willing to work with Guyana, to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state in Chengdu, expand exchanges and cooperation in various areas and build a more close-knit ChinaGuyana community with a shared future.

Finally, I wish you all a Happy Year of the Dragon!

Kaieteur News

PAGE 74

Sunday February 11, 2024

Georgetown Magistrates' Court round-up

By Christal Yong

B

elow are several court cases which were heard at the at the Georgetown Magistrates' Court between February 5, 2024, and February 9, 2024.

Monday Twenty-five-year-old Kevon Whitney was remanded to prison on Monday, when he appeared before Magistrate Rhondell Weever at the Georgetown Magistrates' Court, for discharging a loaded firearm

and a live round towards Shervin Harding and within 100 yards in public. Whitney was remanded to prison and is scheduled to return to the court on March 4, 2024, for statements and fixtures.

Trivon Stewart, 21, was remanded to prison on Monday after he appeared at the city court before Magistrate Weever and charged with being in possession of a GL-302 teargas canister. Stewart is scheduled to return to court on March 4, 2024, for statements and fixtures.

On Monday, Joel Hailey, 33, was granted bail in the sum of $100,000, after he was accused of stealing an Arcade cycle from Samantha Persaud at Elaine Avenue, Georgetown on December 11, 2023, and selling it.

Hailey is scheduled to return to court on February 26, 2024, for statements and fixtures.

F o r t y - e i g h t - y e a r- o l d Alcides Joes Martinez Mejias, a former Venezuelan police officer was sentenced to one year imprisonment on Monday after he pleaded

guilty to being in possession of a firearm and ammunition without being the holder of a firearm and ammunition licence. He appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates' Court before Magistrate Weever.

Wednesday Twenty-three-year-old Melissa Cort was fined $60,000 on Wednesday, when she appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Sherdell Isaacs-Marcus after she admitted to smuggling a pack of cigarettes for her boyfriend at the Supreme High Court, Georgetown, where he is facing a murder

trial.

Friday On Friday, Yannick Cummings, who appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates' Court before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly was sentenced to nine months imprisonment after he admitted to breaking the windshield of a doctor's Mercedes Benz motorcar on Wednesday. Cummings was charged with unlawful and malicious damage to property.

Shemroy December and Mark Mohamed were both remanded to prison on Friday after they were charged for

being in their possession 15.85 pounds of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking at Hill Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, on February 7, 2024. December and Mohamed are scheduled to return to the court on March 15, 2024.

Following that was Dwayne Wond, who was granted bail in the sum of $75,000 after he was caught with 101 grams of cannabis by ranks in the vicinity of Ibet Supreme locating at Croal Street, Stabroek on February 5, 2024. He is scheduled to return to court on March 22, 2024.

Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

PAGE 75

BLUNTNESS ON INDECENCY! In case you haven’t heard, please be informed that as part of our continued effort to channel positive changes in our country, our publisher, Mr. Glenn Lall, has dedicated our Page Seven to be “BLUNT” about on-going indecencies in our land that should matter, not only to us at this publication, but the entire nation.

SUNDAY – FEBRUARY 04, 2024 Is the US$2 billion oil spill guarantee really in place?

The games being played by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and by extension the Government of Guyana (GoG) has set a dangerous precedent for the foreign oil companies in Guyana.

As though the country is not already in a calamitous position with the World's worst oil deal, the government is now playing games with protecting this country from an oil spill.

It is not only spending Guyanese tax dollars to fight against full protection from such a catastrophic activity, but is now hiding a limited US$2 billion guarantee that has been ordered by the Court to protect this nation.

This begs the questions as to whether this guarantee is really in place.

MONDAY – FEBRUARY 05, 2024 Convenient arguments of oil price volatility The government is ignoring the economic doom that this country can be plunged into if oil prices drop and the revenues to service the growing debt dries up.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo himself has boasted in our ability to service debt with the revenues to come in from the oil sector.

He did not consider the volatility of oil prices there, how convenient!

This government is indebting the nation acting like there is no tomorrow.

It refuses to ring-fence the Stabroek Block projects, completely ignoring the fact that Guyana might not be able to benefit from the sector in the future due to a decline in oil prices but conveniently argues that public servants cannot receive more due to the volatile oil prices.

What a two-faced government that cares not about the people but fattening the pockets of the already wealthy foreigners!

TUESDAY – FEBRUARY 06, 2024 Teachers deserve more!

Teachers yesterday took to the streets with their placards fighting for better

wages and salaries.

We support this move and also believe they must be paid more.

For too long this government has ignored the laws, while refusing to meaningfully engage with the teachers' representativesthe Guyana Teacher's Union.

For a government that likes to boast about democracy- successive PPP/C Governments have trampled on the collective bargaining process with unions?

Why is the Ministry of Education not willing to engage the union rather than forcing teachers to go along with the whims and fancies of the Labour Ministry?

Te a c h e r s , d o c t o r s , nurses, police officers and all public servants deserve a decent salary.

They should not have to go into the streets to demand it and they should certainly not be forced to accept these paltry increases imposed by this administration.

WEDNESDAY – FEBRUARY 07, 2024 CONVERSE NOT CONDEMN The PPP GOVERNMENT seems to have settled on a modus operandi: Intimidate, do not engage.

Threaten, do not talk.

Squeeze and freeze.

No discussion. Retaliation only.

The teachers' strike is i l l e g a l . Tr a m p l i n g o n collective bargaining is fine, but striking for rights, for better, is illegal.

The punitive is employed: halt to collecting union dues.

This is how low, how desperate the PPP Government has become.

Te a c h e r s s t r i k i n g f o r betterment to their condition.

The best response the Government is capable of is to threaten salary deductions, rather than have honest conversation.

Instead of looking to fix, the PPP looking to drive fear i n t o t e a c h e r s .

Guyanese workers are boiling.

THURSDAY – FEBRUARY O8, 2024 Oil money not touching Guyanese Guyana's oil is being

spoken of in such gushing terms as 'world-class'; 'defining' and 'differencemaking'.

At the same time, the people who own this great oil wealth, the citizens of Guyana, are largely untouched by its richness.

ExxonMobil gets richer and richer, Hess Corporation has been able to lift itself up, then market itself into a huge sale and multibillion-dollar payday.

FRIDAY – FEBRUARY 09, 2024 Manickchand and Teachers Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand

appeared before non-striking teachers yesterday.

It was a spectacle, a show for the ages.

A political master on top prancing before the 'have nots'.

Google the Gucci bag, it's success, the mark of those in charge.

She can afford to preen and prattle, with that fat, juicy salary, and all those sweet allowances.

There she was showboating and grandstanding before the faithful.

The queen looking down her nose at the commoners.

This is the arrogance, the disrespect that drove teachers to the streets.

Priya can celebrate and display her millionaire status.

Teachers must shut up and be contented with the miserly and stingy.

She is a symbol of rich oil success.

Teachers, the victims of political excess and contempt.

Take a bow, minister.

S AT U R D AY – FEBRUARY 10, 2024 Bharrat Jagdeo, the flip-flopping fish Have you ever seen a fish out of water, flip-flopping for dear life trying to get back in? Here's an example of a much bigger fish doing it.

In 2018, Bharrat Jagdeo, then Opposition leader, vocally supported teachers striking for better pay. Fast forward to 2024, now in power, he is singing a completely different tune, disrespecting similar protest action against his administration.

He admits to speaking out about Coretta McDonald's complaints against the previous government. But now, he conveniently dismisses the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) as not “credible” because of her there.

Hurry up and get back into the water, Mr. Fish.

We're tired of his flipflopping.

PAGE 76

Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

Kaieteur News

Sunday Thursday February November 11, 2024 24, 2022

PAGE 77 19

Afif nets penalty hat-trick as Qatar beat Jordan to retain Asian Cup crown (Reuters) - Qatar successfully defended their Asian Cup crown after beating Jordan 3-1 on Saturday at Lusail Stadium where Akram Afif converted three penalties as the hosts won their second continental title.

Jordan were playing in their first Asian Cup final and seeking their first major trophy, but it was Qatar who prevailed in front of 86,492

fans including Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Yazan Al-Naimat had briefly given Jordan hope when he netted an equaliser in the second half but their dreams were shattered when they conceded two more penalties, put away by Afif who finished as the tournament’s top scorer with eight goals.

Afif, who was thrown into the air repeatedly by his team mates after the final whistle, also picked up the award for player of the match and most valuable player of the tournament.

“I congratulate the Qatari people and players. We’re so happy after winning this difficult game, the tension was high,” coach Marquez Lopez told reporters.

“Maybe we didn’t play

Sunday February 11, 2024 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) A goal related to business or finance that is very important to you could require you to pay a lot of attention to paperwork today. You're likely to spend most of the day on it since a deadline may be involved.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) An upcoming visit from someone close may have you working overtime in order to fix up your house, Libra.

Therefore, you could be tempted to go crazy buying decorative items.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) The establishment of a new business partnership could require a lot of paperwork today, Taurus. It might be really tedious trying to make sense of all the jargon involved, but it's important to you, so you're likely to be more persistent than usual.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Working at home might be the answer for you today, Scorpio.

You could be physically and mentally worn out from working too hard, but you still have important tasks to complete.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Legal documents that concern your business may need to be executed today. There might be a lot of paper to wade through, not to mention jargon that appears indecipherable.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Today you might consider making an investment of time, energy, and perhaps a little money in a creative project of some kind, Cancer. This could also involve modern technology in some way.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Visitors might come to your home today to discuss business of some kind, Leo, perhaps job related, perhaps about an enterprise you're developing on your own.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) A rush of excess ambition could cause you to channel a lot of your physical and mental energy into whatever work you're doing right now.

This might involve writing, teaching, or speaking in some way.

SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) News you may receive about your place of business or the people you work for might bring up some doubts about your future in this organization, Sagittarius.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Paperwork involving money might seem a bit o v e r w h e l m i n g t o d a y, Capricorn, and you might ask a friend for advice or assistance.

This person probably knows what it's all about.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Some rather tedious and boring paperwork you have to handle for your business might be a pain in the neck now, Aquarius, but it should bring a lot of benefits to you later.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Books, lectures, and other sources of information regarding spiritual, metaphysical, or religious matters could have your mind spinning, Pisces. What you read or hear is likely to be fascinating, but you might be too overwhelmed to make sense of it right now.

beautiful football today but everyone remembers the winner. I’m so happy for Akram, he deserved to win all the awards.”

Qatar took the lead when Afif won a penalty in the 20th minute as he tried to skip past Abdallah Nasib, with the referee immediately pointing to the spot as Jordan coach Hussein Ammouta reacted furiously on the touchline.

Qatar skipper Hassan AlHaydos hovered near the penalty spot but once Jordan’s players were out of the way, he handed the ball to Afif and the forward stepped up to find the bottom corner from the spot.

The goal was the first Jordan had conceded since their dramatic last-16 win over Iraq and Afif celebrated his strike by performing a card trick for the cameras, displaying the letter ‘S’. “‘S’ is the first letter of my wife’s name, she’s from Kuwait. Today’s match was her first in the stadium,” Afif said. “The cup will remain in

Buxton Stars and Buxton...

From page 80 football brilliance as the two Buxton teams demonstrated their prowess, leaving fans eagerly anticipating the next chapter of the East Coast Mash Knockout Football Cup. As the tournament unfolded, the spotlight shone brightly on Teshawn Gordon, whose stellar performance elevated him to the status of the evening’s standout player. His precise goals and strategic plays were instrumental in Buxton U n i t e d ’s v i c t o r i o u s campaign.

The Number-5 ground in Berbice hosted the other two quarter final clashes yesterday. Details of those matches will be provided in this publication when it is made available. Semi finals are set for February 15 at GGCC. The tournament is made possible through the generous sponsorship of Rainforest Waters, Guinness, GT Beer, Ryda Hard Wine, MVP Sports, Star Party Rentals, Recount Party Rental, GuyWill Shipping, Woodpecker Products, Hype Laundromat, Anchor Cement, and the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports.

Qatar’s Akram Afif celebrates with teammates after winning the AFC Asian Cup (Reuters)

Doha... We will tell our fans that the best is yet to come.”

Jordan switched gears in the second half and pegged Qatar back as they began to find space in behind the defence.

Yazan Al-Arab nearly equalised with a sensational volley from a corner that was hit straight at the keeper while a back-heeled effort at

the near post from Ali Olwan moments later went inches wide.

They finally found the equaliser midway through the second half when AlNaimat controlled a cross with a sublime first touch, escaping his marker to fire home an uncontested shot for his fourth of the tournament.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 78

Sunday February 11, 2024

Bundesliga: Leverkusen five points clear after beating Bayern (BBC Sport) - Bayer Leverkusen struck a huge blow in the Bundesliga title race with an emphatic victory over Bayern Munich which sent them five points clear. Xabi Alonso’s side took the lead in the first half when Josip Stanisic finished clinically at the back post.

The BayArena erupted again shortly after the break when Alex Grimaldo fired in from a tight angle.

Jeremie Frimpong put the gloss on the result in injury time when goalkeeper Manuel Neuer went up for a corner.

Second-placed Bayern, the defending champions having won the past 11

Bundesliga titles, managed just a solitary shot on target as they were blown away.

Leverkusen’s victory means they are now unbeaten in 31 matches in all competitions this season (won 27, drawn four).

For the first time in eight years, Bayern only managed one shot on target in a Bundesliga match.

This result was a bruise to the ego of a team used to being top dogs, as much as to their points total.

There’s still a long way to go this season and it is difficult to envisage the 33time Bundesliga winners throwing in the towel just yet allowing Leverkusen to

canter home.

However, a subdued performance by his players must be a concern for Bayern boss Tuchel, along with how he was tactically outwitted by his Bayer counterpart Alonso.

It was also a quiet display from Bundesliga top scorer Harry Kane, with the England captain a peripheral figure for much of the match.

Kane had 18 touches against Leverkusen but no shots on target and no chances created.

After leaving Tottenham in search of trophies he will not want to finish his first season in Germany without a winner’s medal.

JFF clear to proceed with election after Supreme Court ruling

Raymond Anderson

Michael Ricketts (SportsMax) - The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is now in the process of setting a new election date, after the Supreme Court denied an application for the continuation of the temporary injunction, which initially barred the proceedings.

It is understood that the application was denied on the basis that the applicants, Patricia Garel and Beach Soccer Jamaica, did not establish that they are an affiliate or member of the JFF. As a result, the court ruled that there is no serious issue to be tried by the court.

“This has been the position of the JFF, and we are pleased that the way is now cleared for us to set the

new election date, which will be determined by the Board,” the JFF said in a statement on Friday.

The initial January 14 election date set by the JFF was thrown out the window when Garel filed the application in the Supreme Court seeking an order to compel the JFF to allow Beach Soccer to participate in the election of officers as the entity representing beach football in Jamaica.

Garel, in the application which was filed this week, contends that in 2022 the r e s p o n d e n t , J F F, promulgated a new constitution and article 12 stipulates that Beach Soccer Jamaica is one of the affiliates under pillar 3 of the constitution.

By virtue of that promulgation under article 12, Beach Soccer became a member of the JFF and was so treated.

Subsequent to the promulgation of the constitution, Garel said recognition was given to Beach Soccer when the respondent invited Beach Soccer to send three representatives to the congress on September 24 last year, which is reflected in the minutes of the JFF. The injunction was granted but expired today (Friday).

Incumbent Michael Ricketts, who has been at the helm since 2017, is being challenged by vice-president Raymond Anderson for the presidency.

Leverkusen wing-back Alex Grimaldo has scored eight goals in his debut Bundesliga season (Getty Images)

Lionel Messi: Chinese officials call off Argentina games amid anger over star not playing (BBC Sport) - Chinese officials have cancelled two Argentina friendlies that were due to take place in the Asian country after Lionel Messi did not play for Inter Miami in a match in Hong Kong.

The world champions were set to face Nigeria in Hangzhou and Ivory Coast in Beijing in March.

Fans in China were angered when the Argentina captain did not play for his club against a Hong Kong XI on Sunday.

Messi, 36, said he could not play because of a groin injury.

However, his non-appearance drew widespread criticism in China when he then featured off the bench three days later against

Vissel Kobe in Japan.

“Beijing does not plan, for the moment, to organise the match in which Lionel Messi was to participate,” the Beijing Football Association said on Saturday.

When the Hangzhou match was cancelled on Friday their sports bureau said: “Given the reasons that everyone knows, according to the competent authorities, the conditions for the event to take place are not met.”

Fans in Hong Kong jeered Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham and chanted for their money back after Messi did not take to the pitch.

They have since been promised a 50% refund by match organisers, Tatler Asia.

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and teammates sit on the substitute bench during the match as Lionel Messi security guard Yassine Cheuko looks on (Reuters)

Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

PAGE 79

Sir Curtly Ambrose set From backyard for Berbice dream, Johnson return set for home in April Australia appearance West Indies Tour of Australia 2024…

Spencer Johnson. (BCCI)

Berbice Cricket Board President Dr. Cecil Beharry (Brandon Corlette photo)

By Brandon Corlette

T

he ancient county of Berbice continues to be a shining light in the West Indies, and recently, Shamar Joseph has further placed the Berbice flag around the globe.

Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) President Dr. Cecil Beharry indicated that the process has already begun to facilitate West Indies legend Sir Curtly Ambrose for another visit in Berbice in April this year.

In 2022, Ambrose visited Berbice to share his knowledge at fast bowling clinics. Joseph, who is now the latest superstar in Test cricket, was also present at those sessions with Ambrose, which was held at the historic Albion Community Centre Cricket Club.West Indies Under-19 pacer Isai Thorne was also a

beneficiary of the sessions held by Amrbose in 2022.

Ambrose’s visit has certainty inspired the youths, and the Berbice administrators are hoping for Ambrose to make further positive impact on the Berbice fast-bowlers.

“We will bring a lot of coaches to Berbice to assist youths in developing their games. Shortly, in April, we are going to have a fastbowling clinic. I can say the legend, Sir Curtly Ambrose will be coming in April, and he will be working with our fast bowlers,” Beharry said at a recent presentation in Berbice.

The towering fastbowler, Ambrose, played 98 Tests for the West Indies, and claimed 405 wickets at a remarkable average of 21.00, and played 176 OneDay International matches, taking 225 wickets at 24.12.

The participants in the

– BCB President fast bowling clinic in 2022 included Isai Thorne, Daniel Vivickanand, Christopher Ogle, Arvin Jaikaran, Trisha Hardat, Darshanie Subramanie, Natran Gill, Shamar Joseph, Gevon Schultz, Isia Anderson, Joel Davis, Collis Hardcourt, Nicholas Ishar, Arif Khan, Shiv Harripersaud, Dave Pretipaul, Khemraj Tika, Sohail Hardwar, Christopher Deeroop, Arif Esau, Manoo Inasi, Nareem Khan, Shamal A n g e l , Q u i n c y A l d e r, Demetri Cameron, Steven Kamalal, Joel Cort, Devendra Latchman, Omal S a u l , A r v i n J o w a h i r, Nicholas Hall, Nicholas Lepps, Adrian Hetmyer, Ronny James, Adrian Norton, Jonathan Outar, Teon Campbell, Sylus Tyndal, Leon Swammy, Keon Sinclair, Chris Harry, Javed Karim, Kevlon Anderson, and Raymond Vankenie.

(ESPN Cricinfo) - Australia will unleash tearaway left-arm quick Spencer Johnson for his debut international on home soil in Sunday’s T20 game against the West Indies.

Johnson, 28, has played three times for Australia - two T20Is in South Africa last August and a 50-over fixture in India last September. He has been summoned for his first home international as Australia, after an 11-run win over the West Indies in Hobart on Friday night, take a 1-0 lead into Sunday night’s Adelaide Oval encounter.

“It’s exciting,” Johnson told reporters on Saturday. “To get another opportunity is obviously something where I want to be.

When I played last year in September, I think I’m a different player now, I have a bit more success in the Big Bash so I’m definitely ready to go.”

Johnson was the hero of Brisbane Heat’s BBL final triumph, taking 4 for 26, the culmination of a whirlwind period.

In September 2022, Johnson had no professional contract and was working as a gardener. But a breakout BBL season was

followed by a first-class debut for South Australia and a stint in the UK Hundred competition. In this year’s IPL auction he was signed by Gujurat Titans for a whopping $A1.78 million.

“I’m taking it in my stride - when you sit back and think about it, it’s pretty ridiculous,” he said. “But I’m here now and I just keep going.” The Adelaide-born fast bowler was particularly rapt at the prospect of making his international debut in Australia in his home city. “It’s obviously going to be a proud moment for my family, to have them in the crowd, and friends there as well,” he said “To play for Australia is something that you dream about in the backyard so to do it is going to be quite cool.”

Australia’s T20 side have five more games before the World Cup starting in June in the West Indies.

“It would be nice to have a couple of performances here for Australia now but the World Cup is still a long way away,” he said.

“If I have a good IPL there’s every chance I might be in that World Cup squad.

Virat Kohli to miss rest of England Test series Kohli has played 113 Tests for India, scoring almost 9,000 runs.

(Getty Images)

Rockaway Group of Companies supports Essequibo cricketers As part of its corporate support, Rockaway Group of Companies has rendered assistance to a number of Essequibo youth cricketers.

During a recent visit to the Imam Bacchus cricket ground in Affiance, Essequibo Coast, where the visiting New York team took on an Affiance XI in a T20 fixture, Chief Executive Officer of the Rockaway Group of Companies Mr. Hafeez Ali presented a quantity of cricket equipment, including bats, pads, gloves and balls to some of the players of the home team Mr. Ali stated that he was impressed with the youths and encouraged them to remain committed.

He said that there are many opportunities in sport and athletes should take advantage of them. He also

Nathan Persaud accepts a bat from Hafeez Ali . spoke on importance of were Sheldon Charles, discipline.

Nathan Persaud and Among those benefitted Rajindra Ramballi.

(BBC Sport) - India batter Virat Kohli will miss the rest of the Test series against England for personal reasons.

The 35-year-old ex-captain previously withdrew from the first two Tests.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Saturday that Kohli also will be absent from the remaining three Tests.

“Virat Kohli will remain unavailable for selection for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons,” the BCCI announced in a statement. “The board fully respects and supports Mr Kohli’s decision.”

When missing the first two Tests, the board had said “certain personal situations demand his presence and undivided attention”. Kohli, who has played 113 Tests for India, is fourth on their list of all-time leading run-scorers with 8,848.

The series is level at 1-1 with three games to play, starting with the third Test in Rajkot on Thursday, 15 February.

Kohli, who led the side in 68 Tests between 2014 and 2022, had not missed a Test

for India for more than two years, last doing so when he was ruled out of a match against South Africa in Johannesburg with a back spasm in January 2022.

India won the second Test by 106 runs in Visakhapatnam on Monday to level the series. Batter Shreyas Iyer, who played in the first two Tests, also did not feature in the 17man squad named for the remainder of the series. Spinner Ravindra Jadeja and batter KL Rahul, who both played in the first Test, have returned to the squad but will only play “subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI medical team”, the board added.

There is also a call-up for uncapped seamer Akash Deep.

India squad for remaining Tests: Rohit Sharma (capt), Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (wk), Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.

Kaieteur News

PAGE 80

Shamar Joseph

Sunday February 11, 2024

Project Cricket Gears for young and promising cricketers in Guyana…

Another young player benefits

Shamar Joseph joins Lucknow Super Giants after ECB pulls Mark Wood out (ESPN Cricinfo) - West Indies fast bowler Shamar Joseph has joined Lucknow Super Giants as replacement for England quick Mark Wood. He will join Super Giants for INR 3 crore, an IPL statement on Saturday said.

ESPNcricinfo understands that the ECB pulled Wood, a centrally contracted player, out of IPL 2024 to manage his workload, with the T20 World Cup scheduled in June and England hosting West Indies and Sri Lanka for Tests in the home summer. Recently, the ECB had prevented Jofra Archer from being a part of the IPL 2024 auction as it manages his comeback from injury leading up to the T20 World Cup. Super Giants had signed Wood in the auction before the 2022 season for INR 7.50 crore. He, however, missed that season because of an elbow injury. In IPL 2023, Wood played four matches and picked up 11 wickets at an average of 11.82.

Joseph made his West Indies debut in the drawn series against Australia, dismissing Steven Smith with his first ball in Test cricket, in a game West Indies lost in Adelaide. He then became a worldwide phenomenon when he took a seven-wicket haul in the final innings despite an injured foot to give West Indies a dramatic eight-run win at the Gabba

in the second Test. It was West Indies’ first Test win in Australia since 1997.

Joseph had been signed by Dubai Capitals for the ongoing ILT20 season before West Indies’ tour of Australia, but was subsequently ruled out because of the toe injury he suffered in the Brisbane Test when a Mitchell Starc yorker struck him. But his performance in Australia has since landed him a deal with Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL, which starts on February 17.

While Joseph has just played two T20 games in his professional career, and doesn’t have a wicket to show yet, West Indies whiteball coach Daren Sammy has indicated that Joseph could find a berth in the T20 World Cup squad, saying the fast bowler has “created a good headache” for the selectors.

Apart from Joseph, the Super Giants’ fastbowling line-up has Naveen-ul-Haq, Mohsin Khan, David Willey, Shivam Mavi, Yash Thakur and Yudhvir Singh.

They also have allrounders Marcus Stoinis, Kyle Mayers and India’s Under-19 World Cupper Arshin Kulkarni, who can give them quite a few overs. Though just two seasons old in the IPL, Super Giants have been one of the best-performing teams, making the playoffs and finishing third both in 2022 and 2023.

Buxton Stars and Buxton United blaze through to East Coast Mash Cup semis Buxton Stars and Buxton United stamped their authority on the East Coast Mash Knockout Football Cup, securing their spots in the semi-finals with identical 2-0 victories at the Golden Grove Community Centre (GGCC) ground on Friday.

The showdown began with Buxton Stars facing off against a formidable Victoria Kings side. In an early move, Jumali Major electrified the crowd by slotting home a goal just seven minutes into the contest, giving Buxton Stars an early lead. Despite a valiant effort from the Kings, their defense crumbled in the 68th minute when Neil Hutson found the back of the net again for the Stars, securing themselves the first spot into the semi final.

On the other side of the pitch, Buxton United showcased their prowess against Haslington FC in a masterful performance. Teshawn Gordon emerged as the star of the evening, scoring two crucial goals. The first came in the 25th minute, setting the tone for United’s dominance. Gordon wasn’t satisfied, adding another to his tally in the 43rd minute, solidifying Buxton United’s path into the semi-finals with a tactful 2-0 victory.

The Golden Grove Community Centre ground witnessed (Continued on page 77)

Teshawn Gordon scored twice in Buxton United’s 2-0 win over Haslington FC

Akeem Persaud, a fourteen years old allrounder who bats lefthanded and bowls right-arm leg spin is the latest young cricketer to benefit from this joint initiative between myself and Kishan Das of the USA, compliments of Anita Kallicharran, wife of former West Indies “B” team allrounder Derek Kallicharran, Powan of DX Sports and Ramjit Singh, all of the USA. Persaud was the recipient of one cricket gear bag, one pair of batting pads, one pair of batting gloves, one pair of cricket shoes and one bat. He is a member of Malteenos Sports Club, Thomas Lands, Georgetown.

Persaud attends Annandale Secondary School. Receiving the gear on his behalf was his mother Farida Gayadin who thanked Anita, her husband Derek and friends for the kind gesture. Derek Kallicharran, his wife and friends continue to promote young cricketers in Guyana by giving back to their country of birth. The Kallicharrans, DX Sports and Ramjit Singh are delighted to be part of youth development in Guyana and encouraged young Persaud and others to focus on their game and studies at the same time. This joint initiative between Kishan Das of the USA and I is proud to be part of this gesture. The initiative wished him well and encouraged him to continue his education to the highest levels.

Total cricket-related items received/purchased so far: $370,000 in cash, thirteen colored cricket uniforms, two trophies, eighteen pairs of cricket boots, thirty-one pairs of batting pads, 33 cricket bats, 29 pairs of batting gloves, 24 thigh pads, three pairs of wicket keeping pads, six arm guards, two chest pads, two boxes, ten cricket bags, six bat rubbers, six helmets, one fiber-glass bat and ten boxes of white cricket balls. In addition to the above, more than $600,000 worth of gear was donated by Sheik Mohamed, a former National wicketkeeper/batsman.

All cash collected is being used to purchase gear requested and not available at the time.

To date, 71 young players, male and female, from all three counties of Guyana have benefited from

Farida Gayadin (left) and Derek Kallicharran seven gear bags, two trophies, four arm guards, thirty bats, three boxes, six helmets, 27 pairs of cricket shoes, eighteen pairs of batting pads, 24 thigh pads, one bat grip, 31 pairs of batting gloves, one pair of wicketkeeping pads and three pairs of wicketkeeping gloves. In addition, two clubs in the Pomeroon area benefited from two used bats. Pomeroon, Leguan and Wa k e n a m C r i c k e t Committees and Cotton Tree Die Hard also received one box of red cricket balls each, Cold Fusion Cricket Club thirteen color uniforms while RHCCCC received three boxes of balls, fifteen white cricket shirts, one pair of junior batting pads, one pair of wicket keeping gloves, a set of stumps and bails. Other beneficiaries are The Essequibo Cricket Board, the Town of Lethem, youth coach Travis Persaud (one box of red cricket balls), male and female teams playing the traditional hardball and softball in the Upper Corentyne area, No.65 Young Titans with 30 Tee Shirts, youths of Just Try Cricket Club, Wakenaam Cricket Academy (one box of white balls), Shemar Joseph, Nehemiah Hohenkirk and Shamar Apple.

Cricket-related items, used or new, are distributed free of cost to young and promising cricketers in Guyana.

Skills, discipline and education are important characteristics of the recipients. Talent spotting is being done across the country and club leaders also assist in identifying talent.

Progressive and wellmanaged cricket clubs with a

youth program, will also benefit.

We take this opportunity to thank Javed and Imran of We s t I n d i a n S p o r t s Complex, Option Group of USA, Hilbert Foster, Bish Panday of P and P Insurance Brokers, Sean Devers, Trevis Simon, Årïêl J. Tïlkú, Aaron Beharry, Leanna Bachan and Imran Saccoor, Devon Ramnauth, Teddy Singh, Romash Munna, Ravi Etwaroo, Kelvin Brijlall, Ravin Harkishun, Surendra Harkishun, Allan Mangru and Dennis Mangru, Vishal Mahabir, Sherman Austin, Huburn Evans, Rajendra Sadeo and Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall, Sheik Mohamed of Star Sports Awards and Trophies, Ajay Gainda of Cricket Equipment Guyana, Gajanand Singh, Peter Ramkissoon, Rabindranath Saywack, Roshan Gaffoor, Ameer Rahaman, Chin Singh, Denesh Chandrapaul, Davo Naraine of UK, Dr Cecil Beharry, Raj Mathura, Raj Bharrat, Latch Mohabir and family, Suresh Dhanai, Vishal Nagamootoo, Moses Nagamootoo Jnr, Regal Sports Store, Omkar Singh, Parmanand Dhaniram, Reshma Mathura, Booman S i n g h , K r i s h n a Rengensamy, Ishwar Singh, Ricky Deonarain of 4R Bearings,Terry Mathura, Kennard Verapen and NY Pioneer CC, Anita and Derek Kallicharran, Powan of DX Sports and Ramjit Singh.

We thank the media for the role they are playing in promoting this venture.

Distribution will continue.

Anyone interested in contributing can contact Anil Beharry on 623 6875 or Kishan Das on 1 718 664 0896.

Kaieteur News

Sunday February 11, 2024

PAGE 81

Georgetown vs The Rest Street Football Championship…

West Indies Championship 2024…

Weather has final say in Eagles, T&T encounter - Pride, Volcanoes register wins Guyana Harpy Eagles had their opening round match spoiled by rain while a few other teams managed to secure much-needed wins ahead of the second round which bowls off on Valentine’s Day. Trinidad & Tobago Red Force and Guyana Harpy Eagles match ends in draw After making 215-4, the Red Force and Jason Mohammed had his unbeaten century innings come to a halt thanks to bad weather which lasted for a few days before the match officially came to a drawn result.

Barbados Pride beat CCC by 9 wickets Barbados Pride posted 344-8 after Kevin Wickham hit 139 followed by 35 for 1, in their 1st and 2nd innings. CCC meanwhile were bowled out for 185 in their first innings before being kept to 193 in the 2nd.

Windward Islands Volcanoes beat Jamaica Scorpions by 9 wickets Half-centuries from Johan Jeremiah, Shamar Springer and Ryan John, helped Windwards post a 1st innings 341.

The Scorpions in their first innings managed 159 all out before falling for 234 runs in the second innings.

With a small target on the cards, the Volcanoes made light work of the chase, ending on 55-1 batting a second time to seal the win. Round 2 continues with the Harpy Eagles battling against the Hurricanes from 10:00h on Wednesday February 14.

Also starting at 10:00h the Red Force will play the West Indies Academy while

Back Circle, Bent Street and California Square into quarter finals

Victoria Eagles player leveling the score against California Square on Friday

Chaim Holder ended with match figures of 8-140

Barbados face the Volcanoes with Jamaica and CCC, capping off the pair of 11:00h games.

Match details: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force 215 for four (Jason Mohammed 100 not out, Tion Webster 50, Amir Jangoo 27, Vikash Mohan 20 not out; Ronsford Beaton 2-39, Veerasammy Permaul 2-42) vs Guyana Harpy Eagles.

Match details: Barbados Pride 344-8 dec & 35-1 defeated Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners 185 & 193

Back Circle, Bent Street, Family, and California Square emerged victorious, securing coveted quarterfinal berths in the inaugural ‘Georgetown versus the Rest’ street-ball championship on Friday evening.

The action unfolded at the Back Circle Tarmac in East Ruimveldt, where the home side, Back Circle, demonstrated their dominance by defeating Broad Street with a convincing 2-0 victory. Similarly, Family showcased their skill as they triumphed over Make It Happen with another 2-0 triumph.

Bent Street exhibited their prowess on the street-ball court, dismissing Ballerz Empire 2-0 in a commanding performance. On the other hand, California Square faced stiff competition but managed to edge past the Victoria Eagles with a narrow 3-2 win, securing their spot in the quarterfinals.

As the tournament progresses, more

intense matchups awaits you, with the quarterfinal round scheduled for Tuesday.

The stakes are high, with the event’s winner set to pocket $400,000 and the prestigious championship trophy. The runners-up will also be rewarded handsomely, with second place receiving $200,000, third place $100,000, and fourth place $50,000.

Individual excellence will not go unnoticed, as the tournament organizers have announced that the Most Valuable Player (MVP) will be awarded a thrilling prize – a brand new motorcycle.

Fixtures - Tuesday 20:00hrs: California Square vs. Gold is Money 21:00hrs: Bent Street vs. Lodge All Stars 22:00hrs: Sparta Boss vs. North East La Penitence 23:00hrs: Back Circle vs. Family

Massive turnout attends Athletics Academy Championship Meet Yesterday, the Athletics Academy Championship Meet was officially hosted at the Police Sports Complex Ground, Eve Leary, and saw an enormous turnout by the youths for what was described as the pillar of the emerging National Sports Academy.

The event, which was hosted by the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), is an initiative in collaboration with the National Sports Commission (NSC), the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and by extension the Government of Guyana.

According to the AAG, the meet catered to athletes age six to twelve and the aim is to “steer them in the right direction”.

At the opening, the Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, congratulated the president and executive members of the Athletic Association for ensuring that this academy is steered in the direction that aligns with the goals and objectives of the National Sports Commission, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, and by extension the government of

Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle

Guyana.

“We have approximately one hundred and sixty young athletes competing at this National Athletic Academy Meet. The number of regions being represented [today] underlines a very important fact that organized athletic training by experienced and certified coaches

is being decentralized.”

He added, “We have taken note of the recent achievements with regard to our medal hauls at regional and international events, at the junior, youth, and senior levels and this academy is an important conduit for replicating and even improving our medal prospects on

the international stage.”

Also present at the opening was Vice Chairperson of the NSC, Cristy Campbell, who said, “I would like to commend the executive of the AAG for overlooking this academy. I know that the athletes who are enrolled in the National Athletic Academy train 5 days every week and in seven different districts which include Linden, East Bank, North, east and South Georgetown, East Coast, and Berbice and I must say kudos to the coaches who are guiding these young athletes along the right path to transition to elite athletes.”

She added that, the NSC and MC YS remain committed to the sustenance of these academies.

Their collaboration with the AAG also involves key stakeholders such as coaches and parents and while the NSC, the Ministry and Culture, Yo u t h a n d S p o r t , a n d t h e Government of Guyana’s vision for the academies is to identify and develop talent in the youth of Guyana.

Campbell further stated, “We are also creating job opportunities

for many coaches and relieving the financial burden of monthly coaching dues from hundreds or parents across Guyana since these academies are fully funded by the Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Culture, youth and sport and the National sports commission.”

Athletics is one of the 12 core sports identified to benefit from the National Sports Academy Programme.

Meanwhile, the AAG also informed that February 17 and 18 at the National Track and Field Facility, West Coast Demerara, will be the last trials to select the country’s team for the CARIFTA Games, which are set for March 30 – April 1 in Grenada.

Thus far, Tianna Springer (400m & 200m), Athaleya Hinckson (100m), Duel Europe (Long Jump), Attoya Harvey (1500m & 800m), Kaidon Persaud (400m & 800m), Javon Roberts (800m), Ezekiel Newton (100m & 200m), Charissa December (High Jump), Ryan Joseph (High Jump), and Jaheel Cornette (200m) have booked their spots.