Kaieteur News

Dr. Vincent Adams:

Auditorsreveal:

Guyana Govt. backs US call for ceasefire in Gaza pedestrian

Police trainer found dead in house

Glenn Lall questions absence of ExxonM’s major expenses from US$7.3B audit report

Guyana’s gold declarations fall from Driver flees scene after killing accident

641,828 to 432,113 oz. in 5 years ExxonM unable to account for items purchased from sister company

Aball of fire and black smoke rise moments after black an Israeli air strike targeted a residential building in the city of Bureij, central Gaza [Bashar Taleb/AFP]

Guyanese Scientist, Dr. Vincent Adams

Glenn Lall questions absence of ExxonM's major expenses from US$7.3B audit report

Businessman and advocateforabetteroil deal, Glenn Lall has questioned the absence of ExxonMobil's major expenses from the US $7.3B audit, which wascarriedoutbylocalconsortium VHEConsulting.

Hisradioprogrammeairedlast Friday, Lall highlighted that Chief Auditor Floyd Haynes who conductedthesecondaudithadsaid during a programme on his radio station last year that he was not given permission by his client and declined to speak on certain items audited.

Hayneshadsaidthat,“Ihaven't been told by my client to discuss thistypeofstuffsoIwanttorespect the client. Once they ask me to speakonit,I'dbehappytoprovide (theinformation).

Haynes noted that, “We have detailed schedules of all of those things. What I can tell you is that those were some areas that we lookedatkeenly–drilling,mud,all those types (expenses), helicopters and we benchmarked them against

industry standards” “You hear whatthechiefauditor,nameFloyd Haynessaidwithhisownvoice,he checked the big US million-dollar stuff and reported it, but didn't get permission to speak on those, so uncleyoutellme,whatstoppedhim from telling us what exactly he uncovered, discovered and find,”

Lalltoldtohisaudience.

The businessman further explainedthatwhileHaynesfreely spokeaboutthe'small'thingsinthe audit that they looked at, he declined to speak on the larger ones.

Coincidentally that part of the audit is missing from the report published online. Some of the 'big ticket' items include the cost to lease the FPSO's, the daily helicopter flights, the supply boats

questioned,“Nowyoutellme,why isBharatJagdeohidingthatpartof thereport?

Ifthesmallmoneyitemsarein the US hundreds of millions, then thebigmoneyitemswillsurelyrun into US billions, that is not in the report online and the chief auditor himselfsayIcan'ttalk.”

Lallfurtherenquiredifitwasa situation where the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Energy Department excluded that part of the report or it was left out by the auditors. However, he doubted the latter occurred since, “there is no way the man will go on national radio and say he checked everything and don't submit a complete report to the clientJagdeo.

Lall then explained that he believed discrepancies were unearthed during the second audit “because if everything was okay with those big money invoices, then I am certain that the Chief Auditor, Mr Haynes, would have been happy to announce to the

nationthatnoskullduggerywenton and that Guyana get fair value for themoneyEMsaytheyspend.”

The audit report has been perused by this publication on multiple occasions and it was recently reported that the multimillion-dollar expenses racked up by American oil major, ExxonMobil between the period 2018 and 2020 are not included in the second audit report, completed by the local consortium, VHE Consulting.

However, this data missing in the second audit and it is clearly stated in a detailed way in the first auditreportwhichwasdonebythe international firm HIS Markit. It must be noted that the first audit reportprovidesreaderswithaclear understanding of the company's operations during the review period.

For instance, the auditors explained that during the audit period, there were 10 exploration/appraisal wells spuddedanddrilledintheStabroek Area Drilling related costs

PublishedofKaieteurNews, Dr. Glenn Lall

recorded against these 10 wells account for US$903 million. A tableisalsoincludedwithdetailsof the rigs used for the drilling operations at the exact wells- (see page34ofreport).

No such information is includedinthesecondreport.

Observers say this lack on information raises serious doubts about the government's commitmenttotransparencyinthe management of the oil sector and furtherunderscorestheneedforan independent petroleum commission to be appointed Moreover, it leaves the Guyanese publicinthedarkregardingtheuse of the country's oil resources at a time when the nation continues to protest for a fairer share of its profits.

Spice-producing Grenada paying teachers more than oil-producing Guyana

Wi t h a n abundance of oil and gas resources in Guyana, the Government should not be making excuses to pay teachersalivablesalary

Thisviewwasexpressed byGuyanesescientistandoil governance advocate, Dr Vincent Adams. Dr Adams isaddinghisvoicetosupport calls made by the GTU and other civil society members for an across-the-board pay increase for teachers. It has been 52 days since teachers have engaged in industrial actionledbytheGTUaspart of their efforts to get the governmenttoincreasetheir salary in accordance to a multi-yearagreementsigned

in2019.

Speaking at a virtual panel discussion hosted by the Guyana Teachers' Union (GTU),lastweek,Dr Adams lamented the fact that teachers have to protest for better pay in an oil-rich Guyana. Adams, a former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pointed to the striking difference in pay between Guyanese teachers and teachersinotherpartsofthe region.

He noted that many timesteachersinGuyanaare being paid two times less thanateacherintheisland.

Dr Adamsexplainedthat “The average teachers' salaryinGuyanaislessthan

Govt.tospend$68Mto constructfiveprefab healthhutsinReg.1

Thegovernmentthrough the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region One is preparing to spend approximately $68 million t o c o n s t r u c t f i v e prefabricated health huts in villagesacrosstheregion.

This is according to an invitation for bids issued by the RDC, which was published in the Sunday's edition of the Guyana Chronicle newspaper In the notice, the RDC is seeking contractors to construct prefab health hut in Tobago Village,Mabarumawhichis estimated to cost $13,400,000;aprefabhealth hut forWanakai, Mabaruma for $13,400,000; another at Aranka, Matarkai for $13,995,000;aprefabhealth hut for Eyelash Village, Matarkai for an estimated figureof$13,995,000;anda prefabstructureforTriangle, Matarkai for also $13,995,000.

K a i e t e u r N e w s understands that plans to have prefab structures erected in hinterlands areas was mentioned last year August by President Irfaan Ali during a dinner with Toshaos.Henotedthatthose prefab structures would support both the education and health sectors in those areas.TheHeadofStatehad

GY$180,000amonthbefore tax Here we are the richest country not only in the Caribbean but on the planet with the highest GDP whichwebragaboutbutyet stillwe'vegotcountriessuch as Grenada; where the only thing that Grenada has and I'm not trying to be derogatory here; the only thing that Grenada has is n u t m e g a n d s

spices…They are called the spice island. Do you know what the average salary of teachers in Grenada is US$1,890.”

- Dr. Vincent Adams

politics…You'refightingfor a living wage not to live a luxurious life; you are fighting for a living wage to provide shelter for your kids ” “So, politicians should not guilt trip you. They are the ones that got a $300,000 raise this year on top of their fat salary and most of them are probably makingabout$2millionper month,”headded.

them whic

importantforthenation."

To further support his view that teachersshould be paid more, the Guyanese scientistalludedtothisyear's national budget where a chunkofthefinanceswentto buildinginfrastructure.

He suggested that some ofthatmoneycanbeusedto

toldthegatheringatthetime that both the Health and Education Ministries had conducted a study back in 2022wheretheycarryoutan assessment on areas which are in need of improved facilitiesandnewfacilities.

To this end, he had mentioned, “They're also working now on a strategic approach to the areas where we have small volumes of childrentogotoschool,like areas where you have fewer than40children,fewerthan eight children and fewer than100childrenandweare working on a prefab formula.”

He added, “So today, I receiveadesignproposalfor these prefab buildings for small populations, small school area, 45 to 80 children that sometimes are so expensive to build because you have to take in all the material. So we are goingtoassessthatproposal andI'mconfidentthataswe planinthenewyear(2024), wecanatleasthaveabout50 or60ofthesefacilitiesready to go to those areas with small volume of children, smallareas.”

The President had mentioned too that they are looking at this prefab solution for nurses and teacherslivingquarters.

“In Guyana, your average salary is less US$850 which means that a Grenadianteacherismaking two and a half times more than their Guyanese counterparts. Imagine, we gotthehighestGDPwiththe lowest teacher salary…” Dr Adamscontinued. He said too that other Caribbean territories like Antigua that do not even have a drop of oil, their teachersarebeingpaidmore. “In Antigua, their teachers are making USD $1110; Trinidad and Tobago, their

teachers are making $1,500 per month and in St Maarten, the teachers are makingclosetoUSD $3000 permonth,”heexplained. As such, Dr Adams said teachers should not feel guilty for asking for a pay raise.

“Teachers pay issues should not be made to be about politics!” he posited. “You'refightingtofeedyour kids that is not partisan politics You fighting to sendyourkidstoschoolthat i s n o t p a r t i s a n

AccordingtoDr Adams, the teachers strike for better payisasaddayforeveryone inGuyana.“ThethingsthatI haveheardfor51odddaysas a matter of fact make you feel like our leaders in Guyana, they do not have a heart. But you have to stay strong; you have the noblest profession without question in my book and without a doubt, in many other people's books,” Dr Adams said. Hecontinuedthat“Every singlepersonbeitalawyer,a doctor, an engineer, they all pass through the hands of teachers …You are one who mold them even beyond the math and science, you mold them, you build character in

“Education is the number onecriteriausedforbuilding

Government has everything upside down The 2024 budget that was passed in parliament, infrastructure received $666 billion of our budget–that is 58 percent of the budget... Teachers got a paltry $29 billion ” Dr Adamssaid.Hereasoned,“If you give a 50 percent raise …it means they could take $ 1 4 b i l l i o n f r o m infrastructure which will takeyoutoabout$42billion ayear;ifyoutakethat$14B from the infrastructure budget, they will still have $652B remaining which is justapaltry2percentofthat budget.”

Police trainer found dead in house

Policetrainerfounddead in house at Albouystown A 35-year-old police corporal stationed at the Officer Training College, Eve Leary was found dead on Monday in his home at Lot 27, Hill S

n He was identified as Ray Fung-A-Fat.

His friend found him deadaround00:30hrs.

The friend, Delroy Moriah, said that he was in the bottom flat of the

corporal's home watching TV and Fung-A-Fat was upstairs.

When Moriah was ready togo,hewentupstairstotell Fung-A-Fat that he was leaving but found him unresponsive on his bed. Moriah said he called an ambulance immediately and Fung-A-Fatwastakentothe City Hospital where doctors saidhewasdead.

Atthistime,nofoulplay is suspected. Moriah told

police that Fung-A-Fat was lashedtohisheadsometime back and since then he suffered from seizures

GuyaneseScientist, Dr. Vincent Adams

KaieteurNews

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EDITORIAL

Oilandtheordinaryman

Ordinary Guyanese are too weighed down with eking out a daily existence to care too much about oil and corruption,tobepreoccupiedwithGuyana’siniquitiesand inequities. They know both are present in this country in spades, and would count themselves lucky if they get a trickle-down from oil; and in the right place with the right partners to get a slice of the corruption Thatisascloseasthesmallmancomestobeingconcerned aboutoilandcorruption.

Politicalschemersandvagabondsarefamiliarwiththe outlook of the small fellow They move swiftly and efficientlytocapitalizebymakingpromisesintendedtobe breached, while ripping off the treasury (contracts, sweetheart deals, cronyism, favours owed, and favours delivered.).

Boththepoliticalschemersandtheordinarymanknow that the regular citizen–the bulk of the population possess neither physical presence nor intellectual breadth nor spiritual strength, nor moral force to confront endless wrongdoings. Cunning Guyanese leaders have settled for giving the numb multitude what sells, while also giving themleasesforpreciousbuilding,timelyhandoutstokeep quiet.Itisnotariskyordangerouswaytolivepolitically If there is one thing that could be said about the wisdom of local political leaders, it is that they have studied Guyana well, know Guyanese better Throw the Guyanese mobs some dog-meat occasionally, and like curs, they fight over theskin,bones,andfluff.

Thesinew,fat,marrow,andprimecutsgototheclubof politicalelites.Inthissphere,thereisnodifferencebetween governmentandopposition,nodividebetweenPPPhustlers and PNC grabbers. It is a free-for-all dog-fight in the trenches, which is why Indian and Black Guyanese (and soon Indigenous and mixed heritage citizens) are at each other’sthroatstogetthebiggestswallowoftheoffalthatis tossedtheirwaytokeepthembusyanddistracted,whilethe big money games in town are handled and parceled out behindthescenes.

Forthisiswhat,ontheotherhand,thatoccursinavery civilized arrangement among political contemporaries at the top. Call it whatever fits: political compromise, leadership horse trading, personal pork barrel pet interests andvisions,anditishappening.Thisiswhathashappened and is happening with Guyana’s oil. It provides one persuasiveexplanationastowhytheOppositionpretendsto know nothing, and has nothing of substance or power to presentwithwhatreallyhappenedwithrichportionsofthis nation’s oil wealth. The money is so much that there is enoughtosharearoundamongstthemselvestosatisfytheir greedandcoverthemostlavishspendingimaginable,while setting all of them up for generations to come. It is a nice placefortheleadPPP/CandPNCRpeopletobe.Theycan be generous and extend sweet charity to newcomers and middle of the roaders, who are only too glad to grab their share.

Meanwhile, the middle class despises and shuns the bottom,sinceitremindstoomuchofwhatcouldbefate;and it is too close to get ideas or harbour reckless visions.The middleclasslookstothetop,hasasolidideaofwhatgoes on,andyearnstogetintotheact.Itisavailable,itisreadyto sell,itispreparedtograspatwhatevercomesitsway Don’t tellitsmembersaboutwhoiscorrupt,orwhohasrippedoff and siphoned off, or who has cheated country and citizen. There is little by way of interest in what could be perilous pastimes. It is better to take what is there to get while the goingisgood.Thatissafer,itisbetter,itissensible,anditis rewardingallaround:noharm,nofoul.Themiddleclassis not taking any chances with its perch. Careful is the word, not drawing any attention to self, not making any waves, through rocking any sensitive boats considered off-limits. When all is finished, it is forever the little people who are takenadvantageof,mislead,andlefthungryandstillhoping thattheywillgetsomethingthistimearound.

Guyana has made genuine gains in life expectancy, reducing child, maternal mortalities

DEAREDITOR

Two daily newspapers prominently carried a letter penned by Dr Kenrick Hunte Dr Hunte made reference to a statement by the President, HE Dr Irfaan Ali,whostatedlastweekthat Guyana has made progress inimprovinglifeexpectancy and maternal and infant mortalities.Whileconceding thatthisiswelcomenews,he clearly also questioned the accuracy of the statement. Healsoincludedatablefrom Worldometer with life expectancies from other CARICOM countries. The objective was clear, the criticismwasobvious–even if life expectancies are improving in Guyana, the country still lags behind life expectancies in the Caribbean, thus rendering the President’s statement as idleboast.

Let us be unequivocalthere have been real and meaningfulimprovementsin life expectancies, child and maternal mortalities in our country The President accurately highlighted the progress Guyana has achieved in health as it relates to life expectancies, child and maternal mortalities.

Importantly, this note is intended to show that Guyana has considerably reduced the gap that existed betweenGuyanaandtherest of the Caribbean countries

andthat,atthepresentpace, between 2025 and 2030, Guyana will, at the minimum,besimilartoother Caribbean countries, if not better than many countries, when it comes to life expectancies.

For the benefit of Dr Hunte and others who wonder about methodology for calculating life expectancies, Guyana’s calculations for life expectancies are based on theexactsameformulaused by the WHO and is consistent with the formula used in the vast majority of countries, including all developed countries and the vast majority of developing countries.

At the moment, Guyana’s life expectancy is approaching 71, with life expectancyforwomenat74 andformenat70.Theglobal averageforlifeexpectancyis 73.4. Thus, Guyana is still belowtheglobalaveragefor life expectancy Between 1950 and 1965, Guyana’s life expectancy was significantly higher than the global average (1950: GuyanavsGlobalaverage= 49.5 vs 46.5; 1965: 60vs. 54). But between 1965 and 1990, Guyana dropped for the first time below the global average In 1990, Guyana’s life expectancy was 61 compared to the global average of 64 Guyana has set a target for

2030tobeonceagainabove the global average for life expectancy In 1950 and 1965, Guyana’s life expectancy laggedbehindthatoftheten Caribbean countries Dr Hunte identified, with a disparityof4.1yearsin1950 and 4.9 years in 1965. This gap widened considerably between 1965 and 1990, averaging approximately 8 years. However, from 1990 to present, the gap has notably diminished to just over 4. Guyana is catching u p T h e g r a d u a l improvementandincreasein life expectancy in our country is substantiated by theMinistryofHealth’sdata onlifeexpectancy,aswellas on child and maternal mortality. This trend is further evidenced by the growing number of individuals living beyond 65, the age of eligibility for old-age pensions For instance, in the early 2000s, approximately 42,000 individuals were receiving pensions,comparedtoabout 74,000 today While it is importanttoexercisecaution whencorrelatingthenumber ofold-agepensionrecipients with life expectancy in Guyana–sincenoteveryone over 65 years applies for a pension – the general trend remains clear: increased life expectancy is associated with a rise in the number of individuals on the old-age pensionroll.

The Ministry of Human Services has plans to establishaCenturianClubin Guyana.Thatwasaveryrare eventinGuyanain1990and even in 2000 is no longer a rare event. Almost every week, we now celebrate the birth anniversary of another Centurion in our country Thisisaconcreteexampleof an increase in life expectancy

Thereisanotherexample in our health data that validatestherealincreasein lifeexpectancy–thenumber o f p e r s o n s d y i n g prematurely from noncommunicable chronic diseases (NCDs). In 1990, more than 90% of persons living with an NCD, died prematurely before the age of65.Today,thatnumberhas decreased dramatically to about58%.Thisisagenuine m e a s u r e t h a t l i f e expectancies in our country haveincreased.

In 1990, our health indicators were negatively way out of range of health indicators for CARICOM countries, outside of Haiti. Our numbers were more equivalent to countries in sub-SaharaAfrica. Since1990,Guyanahas made progress in reducing the gap through strong public health and hospital programs, with more investmentinhealth,

(Continuedonpage16)

Time to enforce a ban on plastic bags

DEAR

EDITOR

, L

day, a

attendingafuneralservice,I stopped to purchase two packets of envelopes. The clerk placed it in a plastic bagthatcouldeasilyholdten times my purchase. Later, I purchased a clinical thermometer, a vial of eyedrop, two small items again placed in a large plasticbag.

I recall in the late 90s as Mayor, faced with empty plastic bags that clogged waterways that constituted an ugly appearance and being environmentally unfriendly, I proposed a ban onplasticbags.Theideawas toutilisebiodegradablebags andcontainerstouseinstead ofplasticbags.

I recall contacting persons in the business community and discussing

thischangeofapproach.One businessentityhadanoffice inRegentStreet,notfarfrom City Hall and advised that theyhadinstocksamplesof biodegradablebagsandwere prepared to bring in large quantities of this environmentally friendly material I raised this question at a Meeting with the then Minister of Local Government and other Government Officials to put in place the appropriate legislation to ban plastic bags.Aftersometime,Iwas told that certain business firms had approached the Government not to support this idea because they had large stocks of plastic bags andmoreontheway.That’s more than two decades ago and I believe, looking around urban and rural communities, it is a project

that should be pursued withoutdelay,eventhoughI was told earlier that these biodegradable bags and containers may cost a little more,itistothebenefitofall concerned.

Earlier,Ivisitedwithone ofmydaughterswholivesin Antigua, I accompanied her to a supermarket, but before entering the building, she extracted from the trunk of thecaralargeclothbaganda basketmadeofstraw/tibisiri or bamboo, similar to the onesIrecalledputtingatthe backofmybicycletoputmy shopping in on Saturday mornings. I recommend for considerationthebanningof plastic bags and the use of biodegradable containers and to get shoppers to walk with cloth or canvas bags. I hope those who are really c

the environment take note and actwithalacrity

So extensive has the use of plastic become that it has been found in the human male reproductive system, the placenta and even in the blood. Wehumanbeingsare the consequence of the totalityoftheenvironment. DearEditorandcitizens, in the interest of our environment, the human race and the appearance of the town and countryside, I urge that consideration be given to the proposal made more than twenty five years ago,tobanplasticandtouse friendly biodegradable containersthereforetophase o

destructiveuseofplastic.

Sincerely HamiltonGreen Elder

Only polls, not common sense, can determine popularity of politicians

DEAREDITOR, Reference is made to Gaylord Riley’s missive “Potpourri – Freddie Kissoon,VishnuBisramand AGNandlall”(May24)asit relatestoremarksaboutme. I agree with the writer that KNistheultimatefreepress in Guyana carrying articles that are pro and antigovernment as well as those that are objective and unaligned. The publisher and editorarecommended!

Rileystatedthatunlessa poll or survey was conducted,commentarieson the popularity of politicians aremereguesswork.Iagree! But apparently, he did not readthemediaregularlyand did not pay heed to what he himselfquotedwhichclearly stated that “surveys were conducted attestingtothe popularity of Irfaan, Jagdeo… “. Those very polls also found that the Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, was extremely unpopular (even in the PNC base), and if he were the Presidential candidate of PNC, APNU and or the alliance with AFC, the PPP will win by a landslide. Clearly,thepollinformation were not my personal opinions but from a scientific survey of a representative sample of the population These were previouslypublishedandare accessible in the media archive In interviewing people,theyoftenexpressed personal views (comments)

about politicians and political parties in addition to providing “yes/no” responses to questions. It is standard practice by pollsters to include some of these views (based on c o n v e r s a t i o n s o r interviews).

Rileystatedthat“apollis not needed” to determine that (President) Irfaan is more popular than (Vice President) Jagdeo among certain categories (groups) ofvotersandthenproceeded to describe as “stupidity” and “nonsense” my claim that Irfaan is more popular than Jagdeo among certain categoriesofvoters(suchas Muslims).Howthencanone determine Irfaan’s support among Indians (break down by Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and others),

A f r i c a n s , M i x e d , Amerindians, and other ethnic categories if a poll is not conducted? In a polarizedsocietylikeours,it may be common sense to conclude that Indians will vote PPP and Africans will vote APNU. But a poll is needed to determine what percentage of each category of voters will deviate from their race (party) to cross vote especially that the nation is divided almost 5050 between the government and opposition in elections going back to 2011.Asmall leakagemaybeenoughfora political change. The poll didfindthatJagdeohasmore Hindu support than Irfaan

who has more Muslim supportthantheformer

Rileymadereferencetoa 2008 personalized attack referring to me as “Bismuth”. I have a degree in Chemistry and am familiar with properties of the number 83 element (Period 6, Group 15 with an atomic mass of 209 and a meltingpointof271C)inthe Period Table. Let me assure RileythatIhavenochanging form; I am quite sturdy especially when conducting opinionsurveysgloballyasI mostrecentlydidinIndiain February, April, and May I absolutely don’t need other elementstopropmeup.

I agree with Riley’s comments and ratings about AttorneyAnilNandlall.Iput him in the same category as among our leading legal luminaries going back the 1950s.

If Riley is of the view that Irfaan and Jagdeo are not more popular than Norton,thenhecanconduct a survey and release the findings. Irfaan will crush Norton in a general election ifthelatteristhePresidential nominee for the opposition. IfNigelHughesorRoysdale FordeorAmanzaDesiristhe nominee,thentheincumbent has a battle on his hands going down to the wire – as per opinion survey, not my personal view Voters say Hughes is the strongest amongthethree!

Yourstruly,

VishnuBisram(PhD)

DearEditor

Two recent letters, both dealing with Israel’s ongoing annihilation of Palestine make instructive reading.

Thecallbythegroupfor the local conglomerate to divest itself of the Israeli firm, struck a discordant note and bordered on conflict when the letter stated,quitedefinitivelythat both the Governments of Guyana and Israel ‘played significant roles’ which facilitated and brokered the deal which saw the Israeli company doing business with the conglomerate. It couldnotbeviewedentirely as a private business partnership(KNJune2).

So the government and

by extension the country recently stood on the right sideofhistorywithitsrecent UN vote on Palestine, but is now,perceivedasdisplaying ambivalence in this deal, which should have been cancelled a long time ago, following Israel’s many atrocities in Gaza, West Bank and more recently Rafah. The continuation of the partnership between the conglomerateandtheIsraeli firm must be brought to an end. Itcannotbesupported. It is wrong and flies in the face of positions taken against apartheid and genocide,theworldover

The other letter repeated thecallforIsrael’sexpulsion fromthebodyofnations,the UN (KN June 1). But we

know that’s not going to happen as its staunch ally willvetoanysuchmove. Thereisnodoubtthatthe war is aided, abetted and supportedbysuperiorforces andhands. Theytooshould facetheICC.

Maybe the second letter should have also called for the expulsion of the Israeli firm.

Howcanitbereconciled that on one hand genocide and all the atrocities happening in Palestine are condemned,butontheother hand, profit considerations supersede and override the former position? How can the two positions be reconciled? Theycan’t.

Regards

ShamshunMohamed

Two letters on Israel’s continued annihilation of Palestine UG Student LoanAgency engaged in discriminatory practices

DearEditor,

Thegovernment’swriteoff of UG students’loans is most welcomed. Thousands of Guyanese will be rewarded for having stayed and worked for the development of the country but how accessible were these loans in the first place and could more have benefitted? Were/are some policies employed by government agencies discriminatory?

When my younger sibling applied for a student loan years ago, he was told that he had to start making

payments on my loan in ordertoqualify Thatwasthe conditionlaidoutbytheUG Student Loan Agency (a Government of Guyana entity). My sibling who had juststartedhisfirstjobasan entry level worker at a call centrewasnottheguarantor for my loan and was not responsible for me or my actions, so this imposition was quite irrational. How many students were similarlyaffected?

Whenmysiblingapplied for his loan, I was abroad.

One year after completing mydegree,IacceptedaGoG

scholarship to study in a foreign university I had to resignfrommylow-salaried publicservantjobandaccept a measly stipend (50 then 100 Canadian dollars per month). Then during my studies, my scholarship was unjustly taken away but that’s not the focus of this letter

Editor, if discriminatory practices such as what I’ve describedarestillinplacein Stateentities,thentheyneed to be dismantled; let equity prevail.

Nevertheless,Iapplaud (Continuedonpage09)

Free education Jettison exclusive narratives

DEAREDITOR

Oneofthehighpointsof The PNC Administration, was the provision of free education from nursery to university We are ever grateful to the PNC Government that such an offer could have been made tothecitizensofthiscountry, wherein its citizens could elevate themselves by

educating themselves withouttheburdenofprivate tuition. Free education by government funding rather thanprivatelyfundedtuition issomethingthatdeveloping countriessuchasourswould welcomewithopenarmsand again I say thanks to the governmentoftheday Free education is once

again a major issue in Guyana, that is, free governmentfundedtuitionat the tertiary level, we welcome this initiative

Already we see the groundworkisbeinglaid,in thedebtwriteoffforstudents who are currently in the system. There is also the GOAL Scholarship Programme for learnerswishingtogotothe nextlevel.

But I am talking about free education in the truest sense of the word, free education without encumbrances such as a government’s imposition of its political ideologies and dogmas. The education that is soon to come, would be

free of the dreaded National S e r v i c e a n d t h e indoctrination of a party’s nationalpolicy

We are all too familiar with the stint at National Service where the PNC Government forcefully imposed itself upon us through a system of brainwashing theories and dogmas;thekeywordhereis party paramountcy The newsystemoffreeeducation would be free and separate from government political interference, hence, we all wait with eager anticipation for the ushering in of our newfreeeducationalsystem in2025.

Respectfullysubmitted

NeilAdams

DEAREDITOR

Last Sunday, we celebrated another Independence Day But are weanyclosertobecominga nation than on that fraught night in 1966 when we received all the symbols of “nationhood’–flag,national motto, pledge of allegiance; etc.afteravirtualracialcivil war? I say not for several reasons;notleastbecausewe have been unwilling to craft anationalnarrativeonwhich we all agree Benedict Anderson said nations are “imagined political communities” and every nation that has amounted to something has a narrative that captures its essence and holdsthepeopletogether

The nation “is imagined as a community, because, regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation that may prevail in each, the nation is always conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship” Americans, for instance, have their “American Dream” narrative – their firm belief that if they work hard and play by the rules, the sky is the limit as regards their upwardmobility

They are a “can do” nation in which their constitution defines and protectstheirequality Allof which leads to their “exceptionalism” as “God’s country”. Narratives are the “ideologies” that guide ordinary folks but ours divideratherthanunite.

To say that the nation is “imaginary”isnottosuggest that the narrative is a tissue

of lies but, as the historian ErnstRenannoted,itisabout whatwechoosetoremember as well as to forget. Fiftye i g h t y e a r s a f t e r Independence, each group still holds on firmly to its ownnarrativewhich,everso often, clash on particulars. And it is these contending assertions we in Guyana have to re-examine and arriveatsomesortofmodus vivendi over what to rememberandwhattoforget if we are too ever end our tragic internecine war and becomeanation.

Hegel’s view of tragedy might be particularly apt to our situation In this narrative, both “sides” are morallyright:theconflictis not between good and evil but between “goods” on which each is making exclusive claim Have we not all contributed to the building of our nation but also to pulling it apart? Isn’tthisthetragicsituation that our mutually exclusive narratives of victimhood with its facile binary oppositions have delivered us into? Invariably, our nodesofdisagreementhave to do with one or the other group proffering reasons why they are exceptional and therefore must be exempted from the universal norm of equality thatshouldbeguaranteedto all citizens of the state

Someofourclashingclaims are about “who suffered more”,“whoarrivedfirst”or “who did more to build Guyana”etc.Suchassertions buttress claims of

preferential treatment that create tensions among our several groups in Guyana –but especially the two larger groups -African and Indian Guyanese who are contesting for power in our democracy

I n n o t i n g t h e importance of narratives in the task of nation building, Benedict Anderson had identified the importance of newspapers – dubbed the “fourth estate” - that are read every morning in constructing those “Imagined Communities”

“The significance of this mass ceremony – Hegel observed that newspapers serve modern man as a substitute for morning prayers–isparadoxical It is performed in silent privacy, in the lair of the s k u l l Y e t e a c h communicant is well aware that the ceremony he performsisbeingreplicated simultaneously by thousands (or millions) of others of whose existence heisconfident,yetofwhose identity he has not the slightestnotion ” But as this era of the press mediating the news to attract the broadest readership morphed into “themedia”withthearrival of radio, television, the internet and now social media, the formal and informal rules of the game have now been thrown overboard and the narratives are now customizedtofragment (Continuedonpage16)

BLUNT BLUNT BLUNT BLUNT

Party paramountcy

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo's weekly press conference, ostensibly in his capacity as his party's General Secretary has effectively overshadowed the role of official government press conferences.

This practice not only muddles the distinction between party and State but also poses the risk of reverting to party paramountcy—a scenario fraught with potential for abuse of power and diminished democratic governance.

ExxonMobilmonitoringowndischargeof oilinproducedwater- EPA Head

Executive Director

o f t h e Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Kemraj Parsram recently revealed that the operator of the oil rich Stabroek Block has been feeding the regulator with information relative to the oil concentration in the treated produced water being dischargeddaily

Producedwaterisaliquid that is extracted during oil production activities It contains dissolved mineral salts, or may be mixed with organic compounds such as acids, waxes, and mineral

oils. It may also be mixed with inorganic metals and byproducts or with trace amountsofheavymetalsand naturally-occurring radioactivematerials,theUS DepartmentofEnergysaidin a research paper It is also usually very high in temperature, and can be deadlytomarineorganisms.

Exxon is therefore required to, in accordance with its Environmental Permits, treat the produced water before it is discharged into the ocean.To ensure the discharge meets the required standard however, the EPA assesses the data it received

fromtheFloatingProduction Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels operated by Exxon.

Parsram while appearing as a guest on the Energy Perspectives Podcast shared the progress made by the agency over the past three years, especially in its oversight of the burgeoning petroleumindustry

In the interview released on Sunday, Parsram noted thattheEPAlaunchedathird water quality sensor late last monthtomonitorthesurface water According to him, “That is within our key surface waters and offshore

Rainy season brings flooding to Black Bush Polder again

...residents blame poor drainage infrastructure

Due to the incessant rain that began during Independence weekend, some Black Bush Polder communities, particularly Lesbeholden,areonceagainheavilyflooded, with residential and agricultural areas drasticallyaffected.

Apartfromtherainfall,alackofeffective drainage mechanisms has amplified what should have been a typical, seasonal spell of inclement weather, residents have said Unfortunatelyfortheresidentsoftheaffected areas, the effects of the flooding are severe enoughtohavewarrantedaprotestactionlast th Wednesday, May 29 , at the outfall channel/pumpstationatAdventure.

Theprotesterswereabletocommunicate with the Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council, Mr David Armogan, who informed this publication that he “was able to engage them and tell them about the measures we are putting in place to ensure that we can mitigate the problems that they arefacingrightnow.”

Currently, water levels have been slowly decreasing due to the installation of a temporarymobilepumpatAdventure.Thisis a small improvement from the previous

drainage apparatus, as the RDC Chair said thatonlyasluicewasinoperationbeforethe pump was installed and that its efficacy was greatly impacted by the rainfall and heavy siltationintheoutfallthatbuiltupduringdry weather

The outfall channel is currently being excavated in order to facilitate the flow of floodwater out of the area.Additionally, Mr Armogan informed that a contract had been givenoutfortheconstructionofapermanent pumping system some time ago and that the contractorexpectsitscompletion“inabout6 weeks' time.” The $978.7 million contract was signed in October 2021 and the project wasslatedtobecompletedinearly2023(see nd June2 KaieteurNewsarticle).

When asked about the crop damage that resultedfromtheflooding,Mr Armogansaid thatthecouncilhasnotyetbeenabletoassess that.

However, Wednesday's protest indicates that those affected have been severely inconvenienced by these circumstances and are eager to be provided with remedies, as drainageandfloodingissueshavepersistedin theareaforanumberofyears.

as well. The plan is to put these sensors that measure the water quality or measure pollutants in water, in the surface water, in our rivers and we can actually at our offices or on our mobile phones we can actually see real time, what is the quality of those parameters - for example turbidity, temperature, ph, total dissolved solids- these are key parameters that indicate thehealthofourwaters.”

Thissystem,hesaid,was fundedbytheGovernmentof Guyana (GoG) through budgetary allocations to the agency. Presently, the sensorsarelocatedatBartica, the Demerara River and at Saxacalli; another sensor is to be placed at the Kaieteur National Park or at the Iwokrama Centre. Parsram said the deployment of the sensors will be expanded in thefuture.

When it comes to the agency's real-time monitoring of the water quality near ExxonMobil's offshore operations in the StabroekBlock,theEPAsaid itisutilisingdatatransmitted by the oil company's FPSOs in operation. He said, “On the FPSOs as well there are sensors as part of the operator's responsibility that theymeasureforexamplethe concentration of oil in produced water that is being discharged.”

Parsram continued, “Remember they (Exxon) have to treat that produced water before they discharge andtheyhavetobringtheoil in the water content in alignment with the World Bank IFC Standards, which

CDB

to

Executive Director of the EPA, Kemraj Parsram

reveals

is 49 mg per day or an average 29 milligrams per liter per month ” The Executive Director of the EPA went on to explain that the sensors on the FPSOs then feed the information to the EPA. “So we have a live platformattheEPAwherewe actually can see, minute by minute, the concentration of oil in produced water,” he noted.

FormerHeadoftheEPA, Dr Vincent Adams had previously raised concerns regarding the concentration of oil in produced water b e i n g d u m p e d b y ExxonMobil. He pointed out that while the multinational corporation should be made to re-inject the produced water into the wells, the government has reversed the environmental regulations to allowthecompanytoinstead dumpthiswasteoverboard.

The Petroleum and Environmental Engineer explained, “We have got all thatwaterbeingdumpedinto the ocean instead of re-

hold

injectingsooverthelife,and when we see the EPA send out this narrative here about they are treating the water, therearestilloilinthewater andifyoucalculatethatsmall concentrationoverthelifeof the field, we will have had hundreds of thousands of barrelsofpureoildumpedin theoceanwiththatwater.”

The Petroleum Engineer therefore noted, “So when they talk about its only 29 milligrams per liter, it adds up. For every million barrel ofwaterthatisdumped,29to 40 barrels of oil is going there.Soifyouadditup,you are going to be dumping hundreds of thousands of pureoilintothatocean,notto mention the toxic metals such as led, mercury and radioactivity, natural radioactivity that is coming from the water from the earth ” Simply put, Dr Adamssaidforeverymillion barrelofproducedwaterthat is discharged, 29 barrels of oilisalsobeingreleasedinto theocean.

seminar on improving trade connectivity and logistics for growth

Recognising the critical importance of trade for economic growth, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is convening a seminartoexamineessential imperatives for creating an enablingtradeecosystemfor theRegion.

The event, entitled 'Accelerating Development: O p t i m i s i n g Tr a d e Connectivity and Logistics for Growth', will be held on June 20, 2024, at the CDB's 54th Annual Meeting in Ottawa, Canada, the bank said in a release. It will facilitate discussion among policymakers, private sector

leaders,andtechnicalexperts on strategies to strengthen trade systems and improve trade logistics across the Caribbean.

Utilising findings from CDB-commissioned Logistics Chain Studies for GrenadaandSaintLucia,the seminar will identify enhancements required for the trade-facilitating environment, including improved regulations, updated legislation, quality infrastructure, and increased use of technology Additionally, it will pinpoint specific opportunities for greaterregionaltradeandthe establishment of value chainsacrosstheRegion.

Mr Ian Durant, CDB's Director of Economics said, "Trade is essential for building resilience in production and advancing development through sustainedincomegrowth.By addressingthebottlenecksin our trade and logistics systems,wecancreatevalue chains that enhance intraregional and extra-regional trade This seminar represents a crucial step in building consensus around the necessary imperatives to achieve these goals The (Continuedonpage16)

Achickenineverypotandacarineverygarage

A controversy arose in the 1932 American presidential election campaign when critics of Herbert Hoover said that he had previously promised a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage. As it turned out, Herbert Hoover had never actually made suchapromise,butthelabel stuck and it led to Hoover’s defeat. In his address on G u y a n a ‘ s 5 8 t h Independence observance held in Linden, Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali did not call for a chicken in every pot.Ratherhespokeabouta Guyana in which everyone could own their own vehicles.

If this were to be achieved it would allow Guyana to surpass even America where nine out of every ten households own a vehicle and one in every 5 has as many as three. While

thevisionofeverypersonin Guyana owning their own vehicle may be idealistic, it isnotarealizablegoal.High levels of poverty persist in thecountry Accordingtothe povertylineforhighincome countries, more than half of the Guyanese population is consideredaspoor Howwill allthesepoorpeoplebeable to afford the cost of purchasing and maintaining a vehicle? Vehicle ownership involves not just theinitialpurchasepricebut also ongoing expenses such as fuel, insurance, maintenance,andrepairs. Afewdaysago,Iwasata petrol station and observed thatthedriversofthreeoutof every f

hicles purchased on average about $3,000 worth of petrol. It tells me that many persons cannot afford to fill up their tanks regularly.The costs of properly maintaining

vehicles are beyond the reach of many Guyanese citizens,particularlyinrural areas where income levels are generally lower This renders the possibility of universal vehicle ownership anunattainableobjective. Itisalsonotpracticalfor every person in Guyana to own a vehicle. From an infrastructure and economic standpoint,thiswillcreatean onerous burden on the state. The current infrastructure is inadequate to support a significant increase in the numberofvehiclesusingthe roadways Having every person own their vehicle would mean, over the longterm, as much as a half of a million vehicles on our roads, since some people will have more than one vehicle.

All of the pittance that wearereceivingfromtheoil companies will have to go

UG Student LoanAgency engaged...

Frompage05 the government’s decision to write off the studentloansofGuyanese.

This is a direct way for thousands of professionals who give their service to the countrytobenefitfromtheoilrevenues.

TheGOALinitiativeisanotherfabulous and visionary undertaking Education continues to be the key in many developing countries that takes countless young people and their descendants out of poverty and gives not only a better quality of life but a better way of thinking especially where societalscourgesareconcerned.

Yourssincerely, NarissaDeokarran

DEM BOYS SEH

De system does not wuk!

E a c h y e a r w e governmentdoesmanageto siphon hundreds of billions of taxpayers’ dollars, only to produce... well, what exactly? A spectacular display of bureaucratic ineptitude, that’s what! It’s likewatchingamagicshow where the rabbit never comes out of the hat, but you keep paying for the ticketsanyway But don’t despair, for our leaders have devised a brilliant strategy to s h o w c a s e t h e i r inefficiency:theOpenDay! Adaywherehundreds,nay, thousands of frustrated souls line up to meet Ministers and public officials, clutching at the straws of hope that their littleproblemsmightfinally getsomeattention.Imagine someone line up and wait fuhhoursfuhseeaMinister about a problem she has. When her turn finally comes around, she is told, “Your issue will be looked into ” She gat to wait another couple of months before the issue is finally

resolved,ifsheislucky The system does not work.Thefactthatsomeone has to see a Minister to resolve a problem is proof that the system does not work. The Open Day only confirms that it does not work.

Then there is another person waiting to get a houselot.Helandlorddone issue eviction order and he gatnowheretolive.Heline upandwaithisturn.Onlyto betoldthatallthehouselots arealreadyallocatedbuthe willbeputonthefasttrack when the next allotment comesthrough. If the system was working,therewouldbeno need for Open Days. But let’s give credit where it’s due. Our government has truly mastered the art of doing nothing with flair Public service reform? Oh, that’s a good one! It’s been relegated to the bottom tier of the policy agenda, gathering dust. After all, whoneedsreformwhenthe system is a perfectly oiled machineofdysfunction?

into building infrastructure to support such a massive fleet of vehicles. The rapid growthinvehicleownership would necessitate continuous and costly infrastructure upgrades, whichthecountrywillnotbe able to sustain financially Therefore, instead of pursuing universal vehicle ownership, a more feasible approach would be to invest in improving public transportation systems, which could offer a more affordable, sustainable, and efficient solution for the population It appears howeverthatlittlethoughtis being given to developing such a public transport system. No attention is also to reducing the number of vehicles on Guyana’s roadways.Ifyoumonitorthe traffic flowing over the Demerara Harbour Bridge each morning during peak hours, it will be observed that most vehicles have one ortwopersons.

If a higher toll fee was charged for vehicles carrying only a driver and one passenger, it would encouragecarpoolingorthe use of public transport, therebyreducingtheflowof trafficoverthebridge.Ifthe JoeVieiraParkwasusedasa

massive parking lot and persons were encouraged to parktheirvehiclesthereand use a shuttle system across thebridgeandintothecity,it would significantly ease the trafficwoes.Itwouldalsobe an ease on the pockets of commuters. If an express light rail was established to bring persons into the city from designed points on the East Bank of Demerara, West Coast of Demerara, West Bankof Demeraraand East Coast of Demerara, it would ease the traffic woes. You can move as many as 1,000 persons at any one time, thereby reducing the needforvehiculartraffic.

The government,

however, has developed a master road infrastructure plan. Like so many other things, this plan is being rolled out without the full plan being made public. As such, it is not certain how this plan is going to contribute to improving communication in the country

Inthiscontext,President Ali should seriously revisit this vision he has about every person owning their own vehicle. This is not necessarilyadesirablething. Already we see certain negative developments

because of the rapid growth of vehicular traffic The more vehicles on the roads, the more accidents are occurring and this will inevitably lead to more read injuries and deaths Secondly,personsarelosing valuablemanhoursintraffic c o n g e s t i o n t h u s underminingproductionand productively. Thirdly, havingtonavigatethetraffic woes in urban areas has beguntoleadtoroadrage.

While the President may mean well, he should seriously delete from his politicalwishlisttheideaof Guyana every Guyanese owning their own vehicles. This is neither practical nor desirable. It would be much better if the President focused his attention on ensuring Guyanese can affordachickenineverypot. Nowwouldnotthatbenice?

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinionsofthisnewspaper.)

And let’s not forget the political appointees Ah yes,thecrownjewelsinour bloated system. Many of theseillustriousindividuals are like decorative pieces, serving no real purpose but looking quite important whiledoingso.Theylounge in their air-conditioned offices, drawing hefty salaries, and contributing precious little to the productivity of the nation. But hey, someone’s got to keepthosechairswarm!

So, here’s a modest proposal for the President: maybe,justmaybe,it’stime to trim the fat. Start by pruning these political ornaments and redirect thosefundsto,Idon’tknow, actual public service reforms? Radical idea, I know But desperate times callfordesperatemeasures. So, the next time you find yourself at an Open Day, marvel at the inefficiency, savor the irony, and remember – this is your government at work, or rather,atrest. Talkhalf.Leffhalf.

H@RD TRUTHS

Awinnercouldendupaloser

Thedebateison. In the wake of the

unbelievable Manchester United FA Cup victory over neighbours, archrivals, and European

football powerhouse, Manchester City, the issue is whattodowithTenHaag,the on field general of United. Sport is a business, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe is as ruthless a businessman as the best of them.

Business tycoons and magnates do not rise to the top by being Mother Teresa. His biggest thoughts can be summarizedinthisway:after allthemoneyputuptobuya minorityshareinManU,how doIrecoupmyinvestmentin thefastesttime?

Whoisthefootballleader thatgivesmethebestshotof improving rapidly on the dollar front? European

football has its abundant monetary rewards, and ManU has not been in the thickofit. Intwofour-word questions: do I keep Ten Haag? Is he the best? I wouldliketolingeronthisin the post victory ecstasy of real-life,theworldofBritish boardrooms and English Football, but the call to national duty pushes me to the surreal world of Guyana. Political Guyana. The new Guyanathatcan'taffordtobe liketheoldone,thatdoesnot have the luxury of, ahm, too many slippages, the bigger onesespecially ThenewGuyanaisabout oil. Bigoil. Isthereanything else, notwithstanding local business taxes, housing, cost ofliving(onthemoneyside), andthemoreroutinesexand violence taking their places in the spotlight. Oil is the

man, and he is an absolute monarch. Anytalkaboutoil meansthataremarkablyfine son of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo seeps, then washes, into the conversation. When Jagdeo speaks, the world listens. Reuters just gave him a plug about gas fields based on one of his recent presspowwows.

Iwonderwhattheythink of the extra-curriculars that are such a huge part of the Vice President's and General Secretary'spressblasts.

Dotheyhaveagoodlaff over their Remy Martin, chortle over his churlishness as they share with one another in this era of instant communication in a wired

Guyanese vernacular: 'wha kine ah leadah is dah?' But the reason that Bharrat

Jagdeo name features alongside English Football andManU(asacrilege,tobe sure) is because the word failure has dogged his leadershipexistence. Theyaretoowellknown with one costly project (and allsuspicioussmelling)after another failing If they haven't collapsed, they collapsed the purse of Guyana.

Everything that he gets near to, touches in some manner,hassometaint,some sense that all is not alright. Theworstpartoftheproblem isthathemakessurethatheis always around anything that isaboutlotsofmoney,andit ishelltoseparatehimfromit. In another environment, a real one, Jagdeo would be deemed a pathological loser, and thrown out on his, er, pants. Nomorebigprojects. No more cash. No more patience No more leadership responsibilities Of course, that's the real world, and since Guyana is not,heisnotunderanysuch

pressure,likeaTenHaag. The man just won and he couldstilllosehisjob.

After having failed with projects in various sectors, Jagdeo has now awarded himself the biggest plum. Oil. If this national leader did what had to be done, he would have all Guyana paying homage to him. I would knock over other Guyanese to be the first in line, as incredible as that sounds.

Instead, he is happiest crawling his way around underExxon'ssize-12shoes. When Guyanese should be makingmovestogetthebest out of its enormous oil wealth, the oil czar can't get his act together, can't get his wordsintherightorder Like Ten Haag of Manchester United, there are grave doubtsthathegotthebestout ofalltheassetshehadinhis hands At least, the Dutchmantried.

The national jury has already decided that Jagdeo doesnosuchthing,takesthe

easy way out. He makes it his duty to attack objecting Guyanese who call him out onoil. Acamouflagethatisa distractionthatdoesnotwork anymore.

It is Exxon all the way and hooray for Routledge andWoodsandtherestofthe Texas Chainsaw Massacre Gang. I give my fellow Guyanese one guess about who are the ones that are beingogledandmangled.

In the real world, Ten Haag is disposable In Guyana, who is going to fire Jagdeo, other than the man himself? If Nigel D is not going anywhere, then BJ isn't. Notwiththatallthatoil money floating around. Ten Haag won one of the biggest prizes in European football, andalltheoddsarethatheis onhiswayout. Jagdeonever hadawinnertohisname,and he is even more firmly cemented in place at the top ofthetop.

I have one for him: do something (anything) with theExxonoilcontractthathe himself tore apart, and I will focus all my time on the books waiting to be written. Beawinnerforonce,Jagdeo raja. Do it! (The views expressedinthisarticleare those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the o p i n i o n s o f t h i s newspaper.)

The plan aims to wind down the war after eight months of fighting

Gaza ceasefire plan turns into deadly game of survival

(BBC NEWS) For the leaders of both Hamas and Israel,endingthewarinGaza hasbecomeadeadlygameof survival.

The terms on which the warfinallyendscouldlargely determine their political futureandtheirgriponpower

For Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, even his physical survival It's partly why previous negotiations have failed It's also why the

question of how to permanently end the fighting has been put off to the last stagesoftheplanoutlinedby US President Joe Biden on Friday

That transition between talksonalimitedhostage-forprisoner deal to discussions about a permanent ceasefire w o u l d , M r B i d e n acknowledged,be“difficult”. Butit'salsowherethesuccess or failure of this latest deal is likely to hinge. Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has strong domesticreasonsforwanting totakethisdealstepbystep.

Phase one, as outlined by Mr Biden, would see the releaseofdozensofhostages, both living and dead. That wouldbewidelywelcomedin acountrywherethefailureto free all those held by Hamas is, for many, a glaring moral stain on his management of the war. But Hamas is unlikely to give up its most politically sensitive hostages –women,wounded,elderly–without some kind of guarantee that Israel won't simply restart the war once they'rehome.

Leaks, quoted by Israeli media on Monday morning, suggested that Benjamin Netanyahu has told parliamentarycolleaguesthat Israel would be able to keep its options open.That option, to resume fighting – until Hamas is “eliminated” – is, some believe, the least Mr Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners will demand Without their support,hefacestheprospect of early elections and the continuation of a corruption trial. Mr Netanyahu needs to

Guyana Govt. backs US call for ceasefire in Gaza

The Government of Guyana has backed calls made by the United States for a ceasefire in the war betweenIsraelandGaza.

In a most recent statement, the Government of Guyana said that it hastakencarefulnoteoftheproposed three-phase deal announced on 31 May 2024 by the President of the United States of America, Joseph BidentobringIsrael'swaronGazato anend.

keep his long-term options open, to stand a chance of winning their support for any initial hostage deal. Hamas leaders,ontheotherhand,are likely to want permanent ceasefireguaranteesupfront.

Previous deals have collapsed into this chasm.

Bridging it now will depend on how much room for manoeuvre Mr Netanyahu has with his hard-right government allies to find alternatives to the “elimination”ofHamas–and how far Hamas leaders are preparedtoconsiderthem.

MrNetanyahutalkedover the weekend about the destruction of Hamas's “military and governing capabilities” and ensuring thatthegroupnolongerposed athreattoIsrael.Fewdispute that Hamas has suffered major losses to its military infrastructure – and even, somesay,toitspublicsupport withinGazaanditscontrolof thestreets.Butthere'snosign that Israel has killed or captureditstopleadersYahya SinwarandMohammedDeif, andleavingthemfreeinGaza tocelebratethewithdrawalof Israeli forces would spell political disaster for Israel's embattledprimeminister

On Monday a US state department spokesman said that although Hamas's capabilities had "steadily degraded"inrecentmonths,it remained a threat and the US did not believe the group couldbeeliminatedmilitarily. Meanwhile the White House said Mr Biden had "confirmed Israel's readiness to move forward with the terms that have now been offered to Hamas" and said the Palestinian group was now the only obstacle to a deal.

Separately, military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the Israeli military would be able to ensure Israel's security in the event of any truce agreed by the government However Yanir Cozin, diplomatic correspondent with Israel's militaryradiostation,GLZ, (Continuedonpage17)

“Wehavenotedthattheproposal aligns in several ways with previous decisionstakenbytheUnitedNations Security Council and the General Assembly to end the war, and which Guyanasupported.”theGovernment saidinitsstatement

Thestatementwentontoaddthat “These include an immediate and sustainedceasefire,theunconditional releaseof hostages,therapidscaling upofhumanitarianaidintoGazaand theimportanceofdevelopingarobust reconstructionplanforGaza.”

Guyana also reiterated that investments in the reconstruction plan would require strong security guarantees.

Further in its missive, the Government of Guyana underscored theimportanceofachievingajustand l a s t i n g s o l u t i o n t o t h e Israeli/Palestinian conflict which has persistedforoversevendecades.

The only viable solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is through the full implementation of the twostatesolutionwiththecreationofafree and independent State of Palestine

based on the pre-1967 borders, living peacefully alongside the State of Israel.”

In addition to showing its support forbringinganendtotheconflict,the Government urged the international community to redouble its efforts to thisend,bringinganendtothedecades of bloodshed and insecurity that have characterized the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

Guyana’s gold declarations fall from

641,828 to 432,113 oz. in 5 years

Guyanaisendowedwith rich natural resources, including bauxite, timber, gold, diamonds, manganese, and now oil The countryisnowbeingrecognisedas one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, owing to i t s o f f s h o r e o i l operations However, regarding Guyana's gold industry, there has been a noticeable decline in declarations over the past several years. From 2019 to 2023, gold d

a

ations dropped by approximately 209,000 troy ounces, according to the Bank of Guyanaannualreports.

In2019,golddeclarationswere 641,828troyounces.Forthatyear, it was stated that the total gold declaration increased by some 4.7 percent with greater declaration from small and medium scale miners and a combined output of the foreign companies, Guyana Goldfields Inc (Aurora Gold Mines) and Troy Resources Guyana Inc. declined by 26.6% to 186,584troyounces

Similarly, in 2020, it was reported that gold declaration declined by 7.8% to 585,433 troy

ounces The gold subsector experienced lower declarations by Guyana Goldfields Inc. and Troy Resources Guyana Inc. to 73,155 troyouncesand26,727troyounces respectively Notably,itwasstated that the outcome by the foreign companies reflected the cessation of operations by one of the large goldminingcompaniestofacilitate a transfer of ownership, as well as lowerextractionsbytheotherlarge company,duetotheenforcementof COVID-19 restrictions which limited the movement of workers. Also, for that year, declaration by small and medium scale miners increased.

Gold declaration declined in 2021, to 499,054 troy ounces reflectingdecreaseddeclarationby all categories of miners Troy ResourcesandGuyanaGoldFields Inc. experienced contraction in output, to 16,845 ounces and 51,384 ounces, respectively That year,TroyhaltedoperationsinMay 2021,tofacilitatearecapitalization of the company and was expected to resume production during the secondquarterof2022.

Gold declined to 486,415 troy ounces in 2022 reflecting

decreaseddeclarationbysmalland medium scale miners, while the sole operating foreign company recorded higher declarations Guyana Gold Fields, the sole operating foreign company saw an

increaseindeclarationsto101,418 troyouncesattheendof2022.

It should be noted that Troy Resources exited Guyana's gold industry owing the country over $2.6billioninroyalties.

The Government of Guyana announcedinOctober2023thatthe company's mining licence was terminated. Last year, total gold declarations contracted by 11.2 % to432,113.2troyounces,reflecting a decline in production by small and medium scale miners and an increase in the sole operating foreigncompany Itwasstatedthat AGMrecordedhigherdeclarations by7.8%to109,358.4troyouncesat theendof2023.

Moreover, Senior Minister Dr

AshniSinghearlierthisyearstated that at least four Canadian mining companies are expected to start goldproductionasearlyas2026. He said that at the large-scale end of the spectrum, exploration activities continue to indicate very strong resource potential of over eight million ounces of gold with ongoing investment in Eagle Mountain, Marudi, Oko West and Wenotminingprojects.

“Gold mining operations continue to offer profitable opportunitiesforbothinternational and domestic investors and prospects for gold remain positive bothatthelargescaleaswellasthe smallandmediumscalelevel,”the ministersaid.

Marudi Gold Mining Mountains, Region Nine (Orlando Wong photo)

Albouystown man gets bail on ganja trafficking charge

A 28-year-old contractor Quinn Neblet residing in Sussex Street, Albouystown, appeared before Senior Magistrate Clive Nurse on Monday on charges of 'possession of narcotics for thepurposeoftrafficking.'

The accused was apprehendedbythepoliceon May28,2024,afterallegedly being found in possession of 44 grams of cannabis. The arrest took place at Barrack and 4th Streets in Kingston, Georgetown, at Neblet aunt's residence.

During the court proceedings, Neblet pleaded not guilty to the charges presented by Senior Magistrate Nurse. However, the prosecutor objected to bail, citing the nature and severityoftheoffence,aswell as the prevalence of such crimes and the potential penalty of 1 to 5 years of imprisonment The prosecutor presented information from the police, stating that Neblet was approached while at a shop. When questioned, he told police that the shop belonged to his aunt. A subsequent

searchledtothediscoveryof the alleged 44 grams of cannabis inside a box within the shop. Neblet was then taken into custody. The defence argued that Neblet should be released on bail. It was asked to be taken into account that this was his first timecharged.

Represented byAttorneyat-Law Bernard Da Silva, Neblet'sdefencestatedthathe was present in 4th Street Kingston, visiting his relatives, at the time of the raid. They clarified that the defendantresidesonSussex (Continuedonpage17)

57.6 grams of cocaine

BV man in court for cocaine and ganja trafficking

A 4 6 - y e a r - o l d businessman appeared at the Bartica Magistrate's Court on Monday charged with possessionofnarcoticsforthe purposeoftrafficking.

DexterAulderalsoknown as 'Tex' of Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara (ECD) appeared before Magistrate Teriq Mohamed, where the charge was read to him. He pleadednotguilty

According to police statements, on May 31, 2024

at the Itaballi police checkpoint, police ranks allegedly found Aulder with 507.5gramsofmarijuanaand 57.6 grams of cocaine. The accusedwasthenarrestedand

Remanded: Dexter Aulder

The accused, Quinn Neblet

Driver flees scene after killing pedestrian in accident

A29-year-old labourer was killedonSunday night after he was struck down by a driver who reportedlylostcontrolofthe vehicle on John's Public Road,Corentyne,Berbice.

The dead man has been identified as Deonarine Budram of Rose HallTown, Corentyne,Berbice.

According to police, the fatal accident occurred at about21:30hrs.Itisreported that the accident involved

motor pickup with registration number GNN 4363 owned by Aaron Abrahim and driven by a

The motor pickup that was involved in the accident

personwhosenameisyetto

Investigations revealed that the pickup was proceeding westalongthesouthernside of John's Public Road, Corentyne, Berbice at an alleged fast rate, while Budram was walking, heading east along the northern side of the said road.

Police stated that the driver lost control of the vehicle and collided with Budram causing him to be flung west on the road surface,collidingwithabus shed on the northern side.

The pickup ended up in a nearby drain and the driver immediatelyfledthescene.

A motionless Budram was picked up in an unconscious state by a public-spirited citizen and takentoPortMourantPublic Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival byadoctoronduty

The body is presently at Ramoo Funeral Home awaiting post-mortem examination. Two persons are being held in custody in connectionwithaccident. Oneofthesuspectsisan unlicensed driver The investigationsareongoing.

Man disappears from boat heading to Essequibo

Relatives of a man who went missing from a boat on May 10, 2024 are seeking answerssurroundingthecircumstancesofhis disappearance.

The man has been identified as Imlach Sears, better known as “Bucky” of Bartica, RegionSevenandwasemployedasacookon theboat.

On Monday, while speaking with the detective on Kaieteur Radio, his sister Ausette (only name given), revealed that he hadonlystartedworkingonthevesselsome twomonthsago.

Kaieteur News learnt that vessel is contracted by Banks DIH Limited to distributeitsgoodsatEssequibo.

OnFriday,May10,thedayhereportedly vanished,hemadecontactwithhisdaughter andsaidthathewascomingdowntoseehis granddaughtersoonbutneverarrived.

Ausette recalled that about a day later, they received a call from the boat captain aboutSears'whereabouts.

At first the captain did not tell them anything but when the relatives returned the call,heinformedthemthathecouldnotfind Sears.

They claimed that the captain first told them that Sears had disappeared from the boat in the vicinity of Thirst Park, Georgetown.

Later, they learnt that instead of filing a missing person's report in Georgetown, the captainfiledoneintheRegionThreeDistrict.

It raised questions and relatives soon foundoutthattheboatcaptaintoldadifferent taletothepoliceattheLeonoraPoliceStation inRegionThree.

Relatives learnt that Sears reportedly went missing from the boat while it was in transit.

“In the report, it states that my brother went upstairs (upper deck) in the vessel to

sleepandthey(crewmembers)arenotsureif he fell off the boat,” Ausette told the Detective.

Thecaptainreportedlyallegedthatitwas only when they were looking for him to preparethemmealsthattheyrealisedhewas missing.KaieteurNewsunderstandsthatthe captain did not alert police or the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) immediately but allegedly claimed that he sentoutfourboatsinsearchofSears.

Laterareportwasmade.

Relatives are bracing for the worse but want closure and are demanding a thorough andfairinvestigationbypolice.

His mother said “I need closure for my son's disappearance. I am pleading with the public now, if you have any information aboutBucky,pleasecomeforwardandletus know”.

If anyone knows where he is or have informationthatcanassistinvestigators,they can make contact with the nearest police station or call relatives on 691-1828, 6122385,665-5912,659-9067.

Missing: Imlach Sears

Exxon unable to account for items purchased from sister company

- Auditors reveal

President of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, Alistair Routledge

GPL pre-qualifying contractors for major upgrades to electricity grid

As electricity outages continuetoplaguethenation even—with the addition of 36MW rented powership connected to the Demerara Berbice Interconnected

System (BDIS) the Guyana Power and Light Inc.,(GPL),islookingtoprequalify contractors for severalmajorupgrades.

These include the installing of 10.5 kilometers

of 69 Kilovolt (kV) transmission lines across the Demerara and Berbice Rivers.

Additionally, the power company has indicated an intention to construct 42 km of 69 kV transmission lines. Other identified works include number of substations, feeders, battery and energy storage systems in addition to a hotline

service among other initiatives.

It was pointed out however that “the present call for an EOI is not an invitation to tender, Only Bidders deemed qualified at thisstagewillreceivedetails informing them of the next s t a g e o f t h i s process—Request for Bids (RFB).”

With this in mind, GPL said it “invites technically and/or financially sound proponents to submit Expressions of Interest relative to the list of Infrastructural Development Projects.”

The closing date for interestedpartiessetbyGPL is June 20, at which point in time the documents will be publicly opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board(NPTAB).

Thepublicrequestcomes on the heels of recent pronouncements by the utility company's Chief Executive Officer Kesh Nandlall, when he appeared

According to the request for Expressions of Interest (EOI)byGPL,theworksaim to satisfy the minimum requirements of providing Capital Financing and. or Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) servicesinordertobeableto executetheproposeprojects.

before the Parliamentary

Economic Services Committee and highlighted that the company had experienced a 24 percent increase in demand from 2019to2023,comparedtoa 14.9 percent increase from 2015 to 2018, a surge, he said, significantly pressured theGPLsystem.

He disclosed that accordingtoGPLstatistics,it indicate that DBIS peak demand reached 153 3 megawatts (MW) in 2022 and grew to 186 MW by the end of 2023 This year, demandisexpectedtoriseto 232 MW, according to Nandlall.

The gross generation for GPLis projected to increase at an annual average rate of 20 percent from 2024 to 2028, with DBIS gross generation forecast to grow at an average of 21 percent annually, and peak demand by18percent.

Nandlall used the occasion to also explain that DBIS's current available capacityis209.4MW This (Continuedonpage16)

WANTED VACANCY

Caricom Insurance is now hiring Sales Agents/Representatives. Attractive Commission and Training provided. Call (592) 610-6650.

Wanted! Workers for packaging pasta and chowmein. $4100-$5000 per day. Workers paid weekly. Call: 6117839.

One male able- bodied Staff. For more information Call: 231-2029, 616-5954.

One female able-bodied Staff. For more information Call: 225-2313, 658-8559.

One Hauler Driver needed. Call: 611-7088/ 639-6106.

Porter to work in warehouse and Canter driver. Experience is an asset, Attractive salary. Call : 673-7373.

One handyboy age 16 or older, Living accommodation and meals provided $75,000 per Month. Call: 6391315,625-5043.

One Babysitter, must be experienced and able to travel overseas. WhatsApp 973508-2743 or 347-331-1223 to apply.

One able bodied porter in a hardware store at Sheriff Street, Attractive salary .Contact: 689-4041.

Mature domestic help needed to work in a workshop on the East Coast Demerara. Call: 662-1883/ 654-2516.

Wanted two office Staff, must have English and Mathematics. Call: 677-4896/664-2374.

Hiring Manager at S.S.W dry goods store at lot 20 Regent street & Hinks street. Tel:6561234.

FOR SALE

German shepherd mix with Husky available. Call : 6480111.

FOR RENT

Place to rent at Vreed-enhoop junction for Lessons, Church, Office, Storage Bond, other. Call: 603-6400.

One bedroom apartment at New road Vreen-enhoop.Serious enquiry only. Call: 638-8858.

Live-in housekeeper needed to cook, clean and do laundry in Virginia, USA. Free room & boarding offered. Call: 845-325-8241.

One Clerk for TSI Eccles office. English & Mathematics, grade 2. Email application: techserigy@yahoo.com or Call: 615-9132.

Maid to cook & clean for East Bank area. For more information Call: 615-9132.

Male Cleaner needed for Eccles. For more information Call: 645-8443/ 6159132.

Auto Electrician and Mechanics needed. Send your CV To: omaransarimi@gmail.com or Call: 618-7066.

W/union CSR'S, Cashiers, Sales representative, Porters, Bond & Accounts Clerk. Call:609-2995,Email: survivalhumanresources2@ gmail.com.

Lathe Operator, Welder & Handyman needed at Good Hope, ECD. Call: 645-9333/ 220-6078.

Chainsaw Operators and Labourers needed for wood concession. Call: 633-6030.

Now hiring: Truck Drivers, Secretary & Accounts clerk to apply send application via Whatsapp at 608-5303/6082114.

Restaurant Manger experience in management & customer service, Good communication skills required. Emil resume: vincent.metivierali@splashmins.com

Head chef, Experience in designing menus and managing staff.Email resume: vincent.metivierali@splashmins.com

Lead Bartender, experience in designing menu, Overseeing staff & Train servers.Email resume: vincent.metivierali@splashmins.com

Vacancy available for Factory workers at Dyna's Embroidery screenprint 22 Austin Street, Campbellville. Call: 226-2621.

Vacancy available for Porter at Dyna's Embroidery screenprint 22 Austin Street, Campbellville. Call: 226-2621.

Regional food hub works advancing

As Guyana continues to position itself as the leading food exporter in the region, construction work for the regional food hub, along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway will soon commence, with an estimated cost of $625.2 million. Phase I of the facility commenced in 2023 for $187 million, while Phase II works are set to continue this year. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, a total of US$14 million has been allocated for the regional food complex’s construction.

The food terminal will facilitate the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source-identified food prod-

Accounts Clerk needed. Must have English & Maths and knowledge in QuickBooks. Apply @ mikeswholesaledepot@yahoo.com or @ their location.

Registered pharmacist. Experienced in community pharmacy would be an asset. Apply @ mikeswholesaledepot@yahoo.com or @ their location.

Cashier & Driver with canter (Truck Licence).Apply @ mikeswholesaledepot@yahoo.com or @ their location.

VEHICLES FOR SALE

1 Honda CRV, includes TV, music system, alarm, reverse camera, sproiler, crashbar, low mileage PTT Series (first owner). Contact: 649-0956.

1 Toyota Allion, Pioneer DVD, CD & USB deck, reverse camera, alarm, low milage. Call: 649-0956.

SERVICES

Visa Application and consultation, advertisements publishing, graphics design, local & USA passport application forms & i130 application. Call: 626-7040.

Elevate your brand with our professional Graphic design services. For more information Call: 619-0007, 629-5526.

We repair & install fridge, freezer, washer & dryer, AC units, stove, etc. Whatsapp/ Call Omar: 683-8734/ 6549711.

ucts, mainly obtained from the state of Roraima in Brazil. Among other things, the centre aims to position Guyana as the regional trade, transportation, and logistics centre between Roraima, South America, and the Caribbean, enhancing bilateral trade connections between Guyana and Brazil.

When completed, the terminal will provide vital services including cleaning, sorting, packaging, repackaging, labelling, and storing products in temperature-controlled units to ensure their quality and safety. The hub

is also expected to generate more revenue and create employment opportunities in the post-harvest and agri-logistics industries in the country’s rural and remote regions. Additionally, it is expected to reduce shipping costs for Roraima and alleviate logistical issues by shipping through Guyana. The cost of fresh and processed agricultural products will significantly decrease for both local and regional markets.

This project is part of Guyana’s efforts to reduce CARICOM’s high food import bill by 25 percent by the

end of 2025. Meanwhile, the government is inviting bids from qualified persons to undertake the massive project, which includes external and foundation works.

Bidding will be conducted through the National Competitive Bidding (NCB) procedures specified in the Procurement Act 2003. All bids must be submitted no later than 9 am on June 27 to the Chairman of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, at the Ministry of Finance on Main and Urquhart Streets in Georgetown. (DPI)

Jettison exclusive narratives...

From page 06 rather than consolidate our communities.

In Guyana, our separate narratives have become weaponized on social media to further polarize our already fractured nation. We have literally lost the plot within our narratives that should sug-

gest compromise rather than a battle of one side overcoming. This would be a constructive narrative for our time, place and circumstances. My suggestion is that we – our leaders and our people - have to craft a common narrative which accepts that, for instance, we have all

suffered and contributed to the creation and building of Guyana. With new horizons opening up with oil revenues, we can at long last have the opportunity for all to be rewarded equitably based on merit.

Sincerely,

Ravi Dev

Guyana has made genuine gains in life...

From page 04 moving the per capita investment from less than $US7 to now almost $US 900. One reason for reduced child mortality is the fact that while in 1990, Guyana utilized just five vaccines and coverage were between 50 and 60%, today, we use 21 vaccines and coverage for almost all of them are between 95 and 100%.

No Guyanese citizen should believe we have reached the pinnacle; there is

still much work to be done.

However, President Irfaan Ali, VP Bharat Jagdeo, Minister Frank Anthony and the government have valid reasons to celebrate the country’s improving health indicators.

Since 1990, Guyana has gained nearly ten years in life expectancy. Guyana has also meaningfully reduced child and maternal mortalities.

Despite the challenges posed by the emergence of HIV/AIDS just before 1990

that plagued Guyana throughout the 1990s, the uncontrolled spread of malaria throughout the 1980s, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic, Guyana has made significant strides in improving our health indicators.

The gap in life expectancy between Guyana and its Caribbean counterparts has notably decreased. This progress is undeniable.

Dr. Leslie Ramsammy

CDB to hold seminar on improving...

From page 8 insights and recommendations from this event will help shape the future of trade connectivity and logistics in the Caribbean.”

The event agenda includes an overview of the main findings of the CDBcommissioned reports followed by an action-oriented panel discussion between Ms. Fatima Arroyos, Program Leader for the Caribbean, World Bank’s LAC Region; Mr. Wilson Pearce, Senior Director of Global Business Development, Canadian Commercial Corporation; Ms. Corah Ann Robertson-

Sylvester, President, Shipping Association of Jamaica; and Mr. Darwin Telemaque, Port Manager of the Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority. Mr. Durant will serve as Moderator.

Panelists will examine measures to encourage sustainable and inclusive trade, increase investments in modern trade infrastructure, and foster a conducive trade environment through an effective legislative framework.

The discussion will also explore the digital transformation of trade systems and its potential for enhancing the competitiveness of intra-re-

gional products.

The seminar is among several information-sharing events on the agenda of the Bank’s Annual Meeting which will run from June 17 –21, 2024. It will be streamed live on CDB’s Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube platforms. Similar events on the Annual Meeting schedule include ‘Employment Equity: Promoting Inclusion in Caribbean Labour Markets’ and ‘Imagineering: Using Creative Industry Research to Devise Development Strategies’, both of which are scheduled for Wednesday, June 19, 2024.

GPL pre-qualifying contractors for major...

From page 15 includes contributions from the rented powership adding 36 MW, the Columbia power plant with 20.8 MW (full capacity is 28.9 MW), the Wartsila plant commissioned in 2021 adding 46.5 MW, and four Caterpillar sets added in 2023 providing approximately 5 MW.

As of May 7, 2024, peak demand reached 183.2 MW – the highest for the year so far while GPL requires a spin-

ning reserve of 27.71 MW.

As such, “To meet the current peak demand of 183.2 MW plus the 27.71 MW spinning reserve comfortably, we need 210.91 MW, which we are currently achieving,” Nandlall stated.

Nandlall at the time also outlined GPL’s plans for the remainder of the year to maintain and add capacity. “By the end of May, the Columbia plant will commission an additional 8.1 MW, and one unit at Kingstown will add 6.9 MW, bringing available generation to 224.4 MW,” he said. He disclosed too that by the end of next month, another engine would be operational, adding 5.5 MW and increasing total available capacity to 229.9 MW.

Adumbrating further, he projected, “By the end of December, all maintenance issues should be resolved, and we should have 245.1 MW.”

VACANCY

Gaza ceasefire plan turns into deadly...

Frompage11 believesthatMrNetanyahu won’t end the war until he canframeitasasuccess.

“AdealthatleavesHamas is a big failure,” he said “Eight months on, when you haven’t achieved any of the war goals – not f i n i s h i n g H a m a s , bringing all the hostages back, or securing the borders – then he doesn’t wanttoendthewar But he also understands that he cannot leave it until the next Israeli electionin2026.”

“If he can say, ‘We exiled Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, they’re not living in Gaza’– and if the people living close to Gaza and the northern bordercangoback–Ithink hecankeephisgovernment together

But it’s a lot of ‘ifs’.”

Hamas is very unlikely to agree to the exile or surrender of its top figures. But there are clear splits emerging between Hamas leaders inside and outside Gaza.

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, who has also served as defence minister, told Israeli radio on Monday that President Biden had announced the deal “after seeing that Netanyahu only moves ahead when he’s certain that Sinwar willrefuse”.

“How do you think Sinwarwillreactwhenhe tends to agree and then he’s told: but be quick, because we still have to kill you after you return allthehostages,”hesaid In the meantime, tens

of thousands of Israelis displacedaftertheHamas attacks on 7 October are watching their prime minister’s next move Among them is Yarin Sultan, a 31-year-old mother of three who ran from her home in Sderot on Gaza’s border the morning after the Hamas attacks She says she won’t go home until Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif are no longerfree.

“This ceasefire will kill us,”shetoldtheBBC.

“We will free the hostages, but a few years from now you will be the next hostages, you will be the next p e o p l e w h o g e t murdered, the women that are raped – all this will happen again ”

Albouystown man gets bail on ganja...

Frompage13 Street,Albouystown. During the incident, a food caravan was searched, and other individuals in theyardhurriedlydeparted uponthepolice’sarrival.

The defence argued that Neblet had no reason to flee so he remained in the yard

Itwasfurtherassertedthatthenarcotics were found in the caravan, which did not belong to thedefendant.

Despitebeingaccusedofpossession,the drugs were not found on his person

ThedefencealsoemphasisedthatNeblet is not a flight risk and is willing to surrender his passport and other relevant documentstothecourt.

Following the proceedings, Senior Magistrate Nurse granted Neblet bail in the amount of $100,000

Hewasinstructedtoreappearincourton July3,2024,forfurtherproceedings.

Israel confirms deaths of four more hostages in Gaza

(BBC NEWS) - Israel’s military says it has establishedthedeathsoffour more people abducted by Hamason7October.

It says the four were killed while together during an Israeli operation in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, addingthattheirbodieswere still being held by the militants.

Themenwerenamedas

British-Israeli Nadav Popplewell, 51, Chaim Peri, 79, Yoram Metzger, 80, and Amiram Cooper, 85. IDF spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said intelligence gathered in recent weeks had led to the assessment.

“We assess that the four of them were killed while together in the area of Khan Younis during our operation there against Hamas,” he said, without giving further details. Last month, Hamas

claimed that Nadav Popplewell had died in an IsraelistrikeinApril.

The UK Foreign Office saiditwasinvestigating,but therewasnoconfirmationof hisdeathuntilnow Hamas released a video showingtheotherthreemen in December. All four hostages were kidnapped from kibbutzes near the GazaStripon7October.Ina

statement via the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, relatives said news of the men’s deaths should “lead every leader to profound soul-searching”

The statement added:

“Chaim, Yoram, Amiram, and Nadav were kidnapped alive, some of them were with other hostages who returnedinthepreviousdeal - and they should have

returned alive to their countryandtheirfamilies.”

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a post on X that he was “greatly saddened” to hear about Nadav Popplewell’s death.

“My thoughts are with hislovedonesatthisterrible time for them,” he added. Nadav Popplewell was kidnappedathishomealong

with his mother, who was eventually released His brotherRoywaskilledinthe attack.

Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage during its attacks on southern Israel, according to Israeli authorities.

The group released 105 civiliansduringaweek-long truceinNovember.

About 120 hostages remain unaccounted for Israeli officials have said many are presumed dead. Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the crossborderattack.

At least 36,470 people have been killed in Gaza in almost eight months of fighting, according to the Hamas-runhealthministry.

Biden set to unveil order restricting asylum at US-Mexico border Biden

his most contentious immigration policies. That includes the so-called “Muslim ban”, which saw the Trump administration bar entry into the US to citizens of several Muslimmajoritycountries.

Republican lawmakers have slammed Biden on immigration since the Democratic president came into office in early 2021, blaming him for a surge in arrivalslastyear

(AL JAZEERA)-

President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order this week that would place new restrictions on the ability of asylum seekers to seek protection at the United States-Mexico border, drawing criticism from rightsadvocates.

Citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter, US news outlets reportedonMondaythatthe order will allow the Biden administration to shut off asylum requests and automatically deny entry to migrants once a daily thresholdismet.

Biden is expected to make the announcement on Tuesday Themovecomesas the Democratic leader continues what experts have dubbedarightwardlurchon immigration amid political pressure from Republicans inthelead-uptoNovember’s presidential election. Biden is set to face off in the race against his Republican predecessor, DonaldTrump, whopursuedahardline,antiimmigration stance while in theWhiteHouse.“Fromday one, the administration has always evaluated what actions could be taken,” a WhiteHouseofficialtoldthe AFP news agency, without

confirming the reports “There haven’t been any final decisions regarding what additional executive actions, if any, could be taken,”theofficialadded.

Citing three people briefed on the plan, CBS News reported on Monday that Biden’s executive order will allow US officials to immediately turn back asylum seekers who enter the country without permits once daily crossings hit a certainnumber

US politics, Canada’s multiculturalism, South America’s geopolitical rise we bring you the storiesthatmatter Bottomof

Form It is unclear what that threshold will be, but CNN and ABC News said the orderwouldbeappliedeach day that 2,500 unauthorised border crossings are registered.

US officials are currently making just under 4,000 apprehensions at the border daily, CNN reported, citinganofficialwiththeUS Department of Homeland Security

The US media outlets also said Biden’s order wouldrelyonSection212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a presidential authority used by Trump to enact some of

WhileBidenhasenacted border restrictions of his own and the number of unauthorised crossings has dropped in recent months, the Republican Party continues to zero in on the issue ahead of what is expected to be a tight Novemberelection.

Asked in an interview with FOX News about Biden’s expected executive order, Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the U S H o u s e o f Representatives, said, “It’s too little, too late ” Meanwhile, members of Biden’s own Democratic Party, as well as human rights groups, have c o n d e m n e d t h e administration for enacting more restrictions at the border “Wearealarmedthat

the administration seems to be reacting to political pressures rather than implementing solutions that addresstherealchallengesat the border,” Mark Hetfield, CEO and president of migrationandrefugeerights group HIAS, said in a statement last month. “The further degradation of protections and due process in the asylum system will undoubtedly lead to the US government returning individuals to territories wheretheyfaceviolenceand harm.”

The Florence Immigrant &RefugeeRightsProject,an Arizona-basedlegalaidnonprofit, also said on social media last week that the executive order would have dire consequences “An expulsion power like this willbarpeoplefleeinggrave harm from even asking for asylumintheUS,forcethem to wait in dangerous conditions, and exacerbate many of the current challenges we’re facing at the border,” the group said.

“People arriving at the border have the right to begintheasylumprocess— regardless of where they’re from, how they arrived, or how many people have arrivedbeforethem.”

Yoram Metzger and Amiram Cooper

Chaim Peri and Nadav Popplewell

Simone Biles wins record 9th all-around title at U.S. championships ahead of 2024 Paris Olympics

Yahoo Sports - Simone Bileshasdoneitagain.Biles won her ninth national allaroundtitleonSundaynight to close out the U S gymnastics championships in Fort Worth, Texas. She won the gold medal on all four apparatuses and was nearly perfect throughout theentirecompetitionasshe gearsupforathirdOlympics runthissummerinParis.

The win in Texas

officiallyclinchedaspotfor Biles in the U.S. Olympic Trialslaterthissummer She is now the first gymnast, man or woman, to win nine all-around national titles

Biles already owned that record after she broke a tie with Alfred Jochim for the record with her eighth win lastyear Thatwinalsomade hertheoldestwomantoever win the title. Biles finished withanall-aroundtotalscore

of119.750.Shefellonceon the vault while trying to come out of her signature Yurchenkodoublepike.That cost her a one-point deduction and marked her firstfalloftheseason.

ThewinonSundaycame afterBilesrolledthroughthe field at the U.S. Classic last month to win the all-around title. Skye Blakely finished in second place with a 113.850. She narrowly beat

outKaylaDiCello,whowon the bronze medal with a score of 110.800. Shilese Jones didn’t participate due to a shoulder injury Both Jones and Kaliya Lincoln were granted petitions to participate in the Olympic Trials.

Bilesisgettingbackinto the swing of things in the leaduptotheOlympicslater this summer after she both led Team USA to the team titleattheWorldGymnastics Championships last fall and earned The Associated Press’FemaleAthlete of the Yearawardin2023.

Tuesday June 04, 2024

ARIES(Mar.21–Apr.19)

Overall,theforecastfortoday is fairly good. The aspects seemtofavorfiguringoutthe meaning of all that's transpired over the past several weeks It's an opportunity for you to take a leisurely

TAURUS(Apr.20–May20)

Have you felt somewhat lost forthepastfewdays?Thefog maylifttodayandenableyou to situate yourself at last. You'reprobablyeagertosettle a question that has nagged at you and interfered with your judgment.

GEMINI(May21–June20)

You may have been feeling somewhat disillusioned. Perhapsyoulostsightofyour goals or misplaced your faith in yourself. You'll feel some reliefbeginningtoday

CANCER(June21–July22)

Youmightbetemptedtosettle certain matters by radical means. The visionary part of you means you're painfully aware of the world's wrongs. You see no reason not to take actiontocorrectthem.

LEO(July23–Aug.22)

Today will be fairly calm in terms of outside events, but yourinnerworldislikelytobe in a rush of activity Today you wish you could find the solutiontoyourheartachesas well as your career predicaments.

VIRGO(Aug.23–Sept.22)

You have a lot of thinking to do about your professional goals, Virgo. You'll go over the elements to see if there isn't some way to approach thingsdifferently

LIBRA(Sept.23–Oct.22)

Youjustcan'tdoeverythingat once, Libra. How do you expect to reduce your stress and recuperate while at the same time continue to be a superstar performer in every areaofyourlife.

SCORPIO(Oct.23–Nov 21)

Thisisagoodmomenttoadapt your logic and reason to reality, Scorpio. If you don't, you're going to run into some

Everyone knows that you find newideasplentiful.

SAGIT(Nov 22–Dec.21)

It'sgoingtobealittledifficult t

y, Sagittarius. You, who can be easily influenced by others, will be listening to and criticizing everything that peoplesay

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19)

Haveyoubeenreviewingyour f

mily h

ory lately, Capricorn? Of special interest is your cultural background. What educational, social, and religious environment were you born into? What are its values?Intheend.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) It's time to elevate your senseofself,Aquarius.You're justasgoodasanyoneelse,so why don't you believe it? The problem is that you're very sensitiveabouthavinganego. Even though you know everyonedoes.

PISCES(Feb.19–Mar.20)

Today your intellectual and expressive abilities should receive a boost from the planets.It'sanexcellenttimeto organize your thoughts about presentingaproject.

Though she will still go through qualifying later this summer, Biles is sure to be one of the most-followed athletes in the world in France for the Olympics. It will mark her first games since she experienced the “twisties” at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and sat outmultiplecompetitionsin what was a stunning development for the fourtimeOlympicgoldmedalist.

Once again, though, Biles seems like she’s back toheroldself.TheOlympic trialswillkickoffonJune27 in Minneapolis, about a full month before the opening ceremonyinParis.

Simone Biles of World Champions Centre poses for a photo with her gold medal and commemorative belt buckle after finishing in first women’s 2024 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships at Dickies Arena on Jun 2, 2024 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters)

South Africa win after Sri Lanka dismissed for 77

BBC Sport - South Africa began their T20 World Cup campaign with a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka as concerns over the drop-in pitches came to the foreinNewYorkyesterday

Sri Lanka were bowled outforjust77–theirlowest T20 total – as just three of their batters made double figures, with Kusal Mendis’ 30-ball19theirtopscore.

Anrich Nortje took career-best T20 figures of 4-7 for SouthAfrica while Kagiso Rabada and KeshavMaharajpickedup twowicketsapiece

Faced with a such low total, South Africa’s batters attempted to play sensibly on a tricky surface as they eked their way to the target with 22 ballstospare.

Quinton de Kock hit one boundary as he top scored with 20 while the normally explosive TristanStubbs(13from28 balls) curbed his attacking instincts.

Wanindu Hasaranga briefly raised Sri Lanka’s hopes with the wickets of both South Africa batters asheclaimed2-22

Heinrich Klaasen, who finished19notout,gotthe Proteas over the line alongside David Miller, who hit the winning runs tofinishunbeatenonsix

Pitch worries for cricket’s fairytale in New

YorkThejewelinthecrown for the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s American dream for this World Cup is the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium. There is no doubt the sparkling ground set in the tranquil surrounds of leafy Eisenhower Park, named after the 34th US president, is an eye-catching construction Albeit a temporaryone.

To h a v e p u l l e d everything together in a short timeframe for the

t o u r n a m e n t i s a commendable achievement as the ICC takes steps to popularise the game in the UnitedStates.

A crowd of 12,562 watched a historic first World Cup game in New Yorkand,despitetheintense security presence, fans –mostofwhomwerefromthe Sri Lanka diaspora –reported few issues gaining entry

Rarely were those supporters roused to their feet by what they saw in the middle,though,inwhatwas

a spectacle lacking the kind of dazzling strokeplay that could prick the interest of anypotentialconvertstothe game. The largely ponderous nature of the contest has inevitably placed scrutiny on the drop-in pitches being used for the eight fixturesbeingplayedhere They were grown in Australia and brought over by ship to Florida before being transported by truck and bedded in by

A d e l a i d e O v a l groundperson Damian

Anrich Nortje got three wickets in his first three overs. (AFP/Getty Images) got

perished caught in the deep. South Africa matched Sri Lanka’s total of three maximums.

By comparison there were 21 sixes in the opener between the USA and Canada in Dallas, where there is a natural turf pitch preparedonsite.

There was also inconsistent bounce with Mathews,trundlinginatthe age of 37 and bowling mid70mph, getting one to climb off the pitch and hit Aiden Markraminhisgroin.

A few overs later, Nuwan Thushara and Dasun Shanaka saw deliveries skid through low The slow outfield was not conducive to scoring either That’snottotakeawayfrom the bowlers – Nortje’s control of length was impressive.

Hough and his team Hough said he had “no fears” about them in advance of the tournament and was hoping for fast and bouncy pitches, but thisonewastwo-paced ICC officials were also bragging about the size of the ground before the tournament, but batters could not generate the power to clear the ropes

Pulling the boundaries in mightaidmatters.

AngeloMathewshittwo sixes but he was one of five Sri Lanka batters who

The Dominican R e p u b l i c ’s

A l e x a n d e r Ogando and Guyana’s Emanuel Archibald will headline the men’s 100m at this year’s AP Invitational, scheduledforJune22atthe National Track and Field Centre.

WiththeAPInvitational just eight days before the June 30 qualification deadline set by World Athletics, track and field fansareinforatreat,aseach athlete will be aiming to meet the 10-second qualificationstandard.

The AP Invitational is part of the World Athletics ContinentalTourandmarks the return of the track and field event for the first time

since 2019. Ogando has a personal best of 10 09 seconds in the 100m, clocked in 2022 This season, he has not yet competed in the 100m, instead focusing on the 200m, where he has recorded a time of 20 26 seconds

His 200m personal best is 19 91 seconds, a performance that earned him gold at the 2022 Central American and Caribbean Games and set a new national record for theDominicanRepublic

The 24-year-old Ogando also found success in the mixed relays, teaming up with Lidio Andrés Feliz, Marileidy Paulino, and

Anabel Medina to finish second (3:10 21) at the Tokyo Olympics, behind Poland (3:09 87) and ahead of the USA (3:10 22)

Ogando again linked with Feliz, Paulino, and Fiordaliza Cofil to win the 4x400m mixed relay at the 2022WorldChampionships with a time of 3:09.82, beating the Netherlands (3:09 90) and the USA (3:10.16).

For Archibald, the country’s Pan Am Games bronze medallist, the AP Invitational could be a crucial opportunity to achieve direct qualification fortheParisOlympics.

This season, Archibald competedinFrenchGuiana,

whereherecordedatimeof 10.13 seconds to win the men’s 100m event, equallinghispersonalbest.

Also featuring in the men’s 100m at the AP Invitational is St Kitts and Nevis’ former national champion, Jason Rogers, who was the starter in his country’s third-place finish inthemen’s4x100mrelayat t h e 2 0 1 1 W o r l d Championships.

Rogers partnered with the legendary Kim Collins, AntoineAdams,andBrijesh Lawrence to run 38 49 seconds, but it was the Jamaican quartet of Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, and Usain Bolt that set a (then) world record time of 37 04

secondstowingold.France finishedthirdwithatimeof 38.20seconds.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Kyle Greaux, better known for his 200m ability, will alsocompeteinthe100m.

Greaux secured a second-place finish with Trinidad and Tobago in the 4x100m relay finals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where Guyana finishedfourth.

Hewasalsopartoftheir 2017 World Relay Championship silver medal team and featured on the teamthatfinishedsecondin the 4x100m relay at the 2019PanAmGames.

Akeem Stewart and ArinzeChancearetheother

It’s still early days for cricket’s New York fairytale, but with India against Pakistan here on Sunday, the worry is the biggest game in world cricket might be affected by apoorpitch.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, Group D, New York

Scores: Sri Lanka 77 (191 overs): Nortje 4-7, Rabada 2-21, Maharaj 2-22; South Africa 80-4 (16 2 overs): De Kock 20 (27); Hasaranga2-22.

Result:SouthAfricawon bysixwickets.

competing in the 100m at the AP Invitational The event will also include Yohand

(Dominican Republic), M

M

o (Dominican Republic), CarlosPalacios(Dominican Republic), Ronal Longa (Colombia), and Alaba Akintola(Nigeria).

Organiser Aliann Pompey said she is looking forward to the men’s 100m match-up, especiallyconsideringthe women’s event that will feature Guyana’s national record holder Jasmine Abrams, Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye, and Namibia’s 100m record holder, BeatriceMasilingi

Ottneil Baartman struck with his first ball. (Getty Images)

Glasgow, De Rosario, Moriah-Welsh in Shabazz World Cup qualifier squad

Chicago Fire’s Omari

Glasgow and Seattle

Sounders forward Osaze De Rosariohavebeennamedin CoachJamaalShabazz’s24manrosterforGuyana’sstart of their 2026 FIFA World Cupqualifierscampaign.

The Golden Jaguars will facePanamainPanamaCity on Thursday, and will then head to Barbados for their home game against Belize onJune11.

Glasgow broke into the Chicago Fire Major League Soccer(MLS)firstteamthis season after joining their NextPro team from Fruta ConquerorsFCin2022.The 20-year-old has scored 16 goalsinhis22outings.

De Rosario made his Golden Jaguars debut againstAntiguaandBarbuda during League B of the Concacaf Nations League and has just signed with Seattle Sounders’ MLS NextPro team, Tacoma Defiance.

Shabazz will also have Nathan Moriah-Welsh at his disposal.

Theplayer,whorecently signedwithScottishPremier

League side Hibernian FC, hasnotsuitedupforGuyana sincescoringfortheGolden Jaguarsintheir6–0winover Antigua and Barbuda in the final Nations League game lastyear

Slingerz FC’s Captain Quincy Adams and his teammates Curtez Kellman, Darron Niles, Leo Lovell, andAkelClarkewilljointhe Guyana Defence Force’s ColinNelson,RyanHackett, and Kelsey Benjamin, alongside Western Tigers’ DanielWilsonasthelocallybasedplayersontheteam.

The team’s selection came following a two-week training camp in Brazil, which concluded over the weekend.

Alongside tactical drills and fitness sessions, the Golden Jaguars engaged in four test matches against Brazilian clubs, including Flamengo FC, one of Brazil’s premier clubs with the second-largest global fanbase.

Shabazz shared that the players have put in a lot of work over two weeks, and the coaching staff have seen

improvement from the first coupleofdaystonow

“The matches in Brazil provided a good dress rehearsalforus.Ourtactical patterns are ambitious but clearly understood by the players. We have a couple more days to complete our work.”

The Guyanese team faces a challenging journey for World Cup qualification between June 2024 and 2025.

Drawn into Group D alongside Panama, Nicaragua, Montserrat, and Belize,theyfaceformidable opponentsstartingwiththeir opening fixture against Panama, currently ranked third on the CONCACAF IndexasofMarch31.

Guyana currently occupiesthe19thpositionon thetable.

The squad is set to take on Belize, currently ranked 29th by CONCACAF, in BarbadosonJune11.

GFF President Wayne Forde wished the team a goodstarttotheirWorldCup journey,adding:“Theyhave the full backing of the

Federation and the support of the Guyanese people. We areconfidentthattheplayers will represent the country withpride.”

The qualification process comprises three stages, involving thirty-two FIFA-affiliated Concacaf MemberAssociations.Inthe initial round, the lowestr a n k e d M e m b e r Associations, such as Turks and Caicos Islands, British VirginIslands,UnitedStates VirginIslands,andAnguilla, competed.

Moving into the Second Round, the first-round victors and the remaining twenty-eight participating Member Associations, including Guyana, will partake in a series of four matches. Only the group winners and runners-up will progresstothethirdandfinal roundofQualifiers.

In the Final Round, the second-roundgroupwinners a n d r u n n e r sup comprising twelve teams—will be divided into three groups of four teams each.Theseteamswillbattle it out in six home-and-away

matches across the FIFA international match windows of September, October, and November 2025.

The victorious trio from thesegroupswillsecuretheir places in the prestigious WorldCup.

Guyana’s ambition is to secure one of these three spotsfordirectqualification, aiming to make their debut appearanceintheWorldCup alongside hosts Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

T h e G F F u r g e s Guyanese,bothathomeand abroad, to rally behind the Golden Jaguars as they pursue their ambitions for

the2026WorldCup.

Goalkeepers: Quillan Roberts,KaiMcKenzieLyle andAkelClarke.

Defenders: Curtez

Kellman, Jalen Jones, Colin Nelson,TerrenceVancooten, QuincyAdams, Leo Lovell, Liam Gordon, Terique Mohammed, and Miquel Scarlett.

Midfielders: Nathan Ferguson, Ryan Hackett, ElliotBonds,DanielWilson, Nathan Moriah Welch, Stephen Duke McKenna, Kadel Daniel, and Darron Niles.

Forwards: Kelsey Benjamin, Omari Glasgow, Deon Moore, and Osaze De Rosario.

Very good morning as Djokovic battles back in French Open epic

AFP - Novak Djokovic avoidedcrashingtohisworst defeatattheFrenchOpenin 15yearsintheearlyhoursof Sundaymorningastitlerival Alexander Zverev was also pushedtothelimit.

Defendingchampionand 24-time Grand Slam title winner Djokovic came from two sets to one down to defeat Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti7-5,6-7(6/8),2-6,63, 6-0 in a third round tie which ended at 3:07 a.m. (0107 GMT). His four-hour 29-minute victory also allowed the 37-year-old world number one to equal Roger Federer’s record of 369GrandSlammatchwins. Hisrewardisaclashwith Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina for a place in the quarter-finals.“Ineedtosay congratulations to Lorenzo Musetti it’s a shame someone had to lose,” Djokovicsaidinhison-court TVinterview

“Heplayedanincredible match. He was very, very close to winning.” It was almost 10:45 p.m. (2045 GMT) on Saturday night

when Djokovic and Musetti eventually took to Court Philippe Chatrier after a seventh day of rain had prompted officials to squeeze extra matches onto thecoveredshowcourts.

Djokovic retrieved an earlybreakinthefirstsetand brokeagaininthe12thgame tosecuretheopener

He was 3-1 up in the secondbeforehewaspinned back in the seventh game while wasting a set point in thetie-breaker

Musetti, who had famously taken a two sets lead over Djokovic at the 2021 tournament before quitting in the decider with an injury, was suddenly the fresher of the two as the clocktickedtowards2a.m.

He swept through the thirdsetcourtesyofadouble break However, in an astonishing turn around, Djokovic summoned his trademarkfightingspiritand tenacitytolevelthetiewitha double break of his own in the fourth set. Musetti, 15 years Djokovic’s junior, suddenlysawhishopesfade

Aryna Sabalenka plays a backhand return to Paula Badosa. (Bertrand GUAY)

as the Serb star completed victory with a forehand winner having reeled off 11 ofthelast12games.

World number four

Zverev, who effectively ended Rafael Nadal’s Roland Garros career in the first round, also needed five

sets to beat Tallon Griekspoor 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 46,7-6(10/3).TheDutchman hadled4-1inthedecider

The27-year-oldGerman is playing under the shadow of an ongoing trial in Berlin

over allegations of assaultinganex-girlfriend. “Incredible match, incredible player He’s

unbelievably dangerous. I always struggle against him,” said Zverev after a four-hour, 14-minute marathon. Zverev, the only player to reach the semifinalsatthelastthreeFrench Opens, will next face Denmark’sHolgerRune.

Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev beat Tomas Machac 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, 1-6, 6-4toreachthelast16forthe third time. Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime booked a fourth round clash against

Carlos Alcaraz after sweeping past Ben Shelton oftheUnitedStates6-4,6-2, 6-1.CasperRuud,runner-up

to Nadal and then Djokovic in the last two years, defeated Argentina’s Tomas Etcheverry6-4,1-6,6-2,6-2 in a match which ended shortlybefore1a.m.

He will faceTaylor Fritz who defeated Thanasi Kokkinakisinfivesets.

-BestoffriendsWorld number two Aryna Sabalenka had the advantage of playing under the roof of Court Philippe Chatrier where she stormed back to defeat close friend Paula Badosa Two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka downed the Spaniard7-5,6-1bywinning 10 of the last 11 games. Badosa had served for the first set at 5-3 but was eventually over-powered by Sabalenka who is into the secondweekinParis for the secondyearinarow Sabalenka, a semifinalist in 2023, has made at least the last four at her past six Grand Slams and is expectedtobeIgaSwiatek’s chief rival in the Pole’s bid for a fourth French Open title. “I just tried to play my

best, play for every point. I knew I could come back,” said Sabalenka. Next up for the Belarusian is a clash againstUS22ndseedEmma Navarro who has made the fourth round of a major for thefirsttime.-RainpainIn an indication of the scheduling chaos, the women’s third round tie between Russia’s Mirra Andreeva and Peyton Stearns of the United States was moved from Court 6 to Court7andthenCourt2. The 17-year-old Andreevaeasedtoa6-2,6-1 victory in just 67 minutes and will next face Russianborn French player Varvara Gracheva.FourthseedElena Rybakinaadvancedwitha64, 6-2 victory over Belgium’sEliseMertens. However, Chinese seventh seed Zheng Qinwen wasknockedoutbyRussia’s ElinaAvanesyan. Zheng, a semi-finalist at the Australian Open, went down 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10/6) to worldnumber70Avanesyan who also made the fourth roundin2023.

Osaze De Rosario

Namibia secures thrilling Super Over victory against Oman in

SportsMax - In a nailbiting encounter, Namibia triumphed over Oman in a Super Over during their 2024 ICC T20 World Cup opener on Sunday night. After both teams were tied withscoresof109,Namibia outclassedOmanintheoneover eliminator, setting the stage for a memorable start tothetournament.

Despite being bundled outfor109,Omanmounteda dramaticcomebackwith the ball, pushing the match into the Super Over However, Namibia, led by the composed and experienced DavidWiese,dominatedthe Super Over to secure a crucialvictory

This match marked only the third time a men’s T20 WorldCupgamehasgoneto a Super Over and the first since 2012 Wiese and Gerhard Erasmus racked up an impressive 21 runs against the seasoned Bilal Khan. Wiese then ensured Oman couldn’t pull off another comeback, limiting themtojust10runs.

On a challenging pitch

T20

World Cup opener

where runs were hard to come by, Wiese began the Super Over in style, drilling a full delivery through the covers and then smashing a full toss for a six wide of long-on. Erasmus continued the onslaught, flicksweepingforaboundaryand squeezingayorkerpastshort thirdtopostthehighestscore in a T20 World Cup Super Over Wiese then took control with the ball, conceding just two runs off his first two deliveries before dismissing Naseem Khushi with an edge onto the stumps Oman managed only a single off the next ball, making the target unreachable, and Wiese closed out the win, becoming only the fourth player in men’sT20Is to bat andbowlinaSuperOver.

Namibia’s modest chasewasspearheadedby Jan Frylinck, who brought the equation down to 18 runs needed off the last three overs Mehran Khan began the

18th over with four byes, then had JJ Smit caught at long-on and bowled three consecutivedotstoWiese.

In the final over, with Namibia needing just five runs, Mehran bowled Frylinck off his pads for a 48-ball 45 He then trapped new batter Zane Green lbw and kept the pressure on, allowing only two runs from Wiese and nearly securing victory forOman.

Namibia’s decision to bowl first paid off when Ruben Trumpelmann t r a p p e d K a s h y a p Prajapati lbw on the first ball Trumpelmann then dismissed Oman captain Aqib Ilyas with a searing inswinging yorker and struckagaininhisnextover, reducingOmanto10for3.

Zeeshan Maqsood attempted to rebuild with a flurry of boundaries but fell to Bernard Scholtz. Namibia’s spinners, Scholtz and Erasmus, then stifled Oman’s scoring, bowling 44 consecutive deliveries

Record prize fund for World Athletics’ new finale

BBC Sport - World Athletics has announced a new global championship to start in 2026 which will feature the biggest prizefundinthesport’shistory

The World Athletics Ultimate Championship will see world champions, Olympic champions, Diamond League winnersandtheyear’sleadingathletesgoup against each other while representing their national teams.The event will have a $10m (£7.87m)kittywithgoldmedallistsreceiving $150,000(£118,000).

Competition will take place over three evening sessions and will include sprints, middle and long-distance races, relays, jumps andthrows WorldAthleticssaysitwillbe“the ultimateseasonfinale”andwillbea“thrilling and fast-moving new format for athletics” Budapest, which staged last year’s World

without conceding a boundary

Oman managed a late surge, with Ayaan Khan attacking Scholtz for a six. However, tight bowling from Wiese and Trumpelmann restricted Oman, with the latter finishing with figures of 4-21

Bilal Khan provided O m a n a n e a r l y

breakthrough, but Namibia navigated the powerplay cautiously The pressure from Oman’s spinners, particularly Ilyas who bowledamaiden,slowedthe scoring rate. Despite dropped catches, Jan Frylinck anchored Namibia’s innings, helping takethegametothelastover

Having come so close, Oman will rue their missed

chances Meanwhile, Namibia,buoyedbyWiese’s heroics,willlooktobuildon this thrilling victory as they progress in the T20 World Cup.

Scores: Namibia 109 for 6 (Frylinck 45, Mehran 3-7) tiedwithOman109(Kail34, Trumpelmann 4-21, Wiese 3 - 2 8 )

Result:SuperOverNamibia 21beatOman10.

Powell says West Indies only ’60 to 70 per cent there’ after World Cup opener

SportsMax -West Indies only played at 60 to 70 per cent of their capabilities as theysurvivedascaretobeat Papua New Guinea in their T20 World Cup opener, admits captain Rovman Powell.

The Windies followed the United States’ lead in making a winning start on homesoilonSunday,though they were pushed close in a five-wicket win over the team ranked 20th in the world.

Championship, will host the inaugural event from11-13September2026-anditwillbeheld everytwoyearsafterthatwithhostcitiestobe decided “With only the best of the best on show and cutting straight to semi-finals and finals,wewillcreateanimmediatepressure toperformforathletes,”saidWorldAthletics presidentLordCoe.

“The World Athletics Ultimate Championship will be high on action and excitement for fans, setting a new standard fortrackandfieldevents.

“Featuringathletics’biggeststars,itwill be a must-watch global sports event and meanstrackandfieldwillhostamajorglobal championshipineverysingleyear,ensuring for the first time that athletics will enjoy a moment of maximum audience reach on an annualbasis.”

The co-hosts collapsed from 61-1 to 97-5 and needed 37 runs from their final 19 balls to reach their target of 137, but Andre Russell and Roston Chase combined to get them over theline.

They take on Uganda in their second match next Sunday before rounding off their Group C campaign against New Zealand and Afghanistan.

Powell knows they have work to do despite their victory, saying in his postmatch interview: “Papua New Guinea’s plans were

simple, and they played some really good cricket. It isimportanttogettwopoints inthistournament.

“Roston bowled pretty well, and to come out under pressure, with the way he played, it was what we needed.

“Weare60to70percent there.Wecanbebetterinall three departments

Hopefully, we can correct thatforthesecondgame.”

ChasewasnamedPlayer of the Match after hitting an

unbeaten 42 off 27 deliveries, and he insists Windies did not take Papua NewGuinealightly

“They’re not an A-List team but we don’t want to take any team lightly in the World Cup. We came out with the mentality that we were playing Australia or India,”hesaid.

“We started slowly but wehadachatatthehalfway stage and the guys just wanted to rally and put our bestfootforward.”

Namibia, led by the composed and experienced David Wiese, dominated the Super Over to secure a crucial victory. (ICC Getty Images)

Rovman Powell

American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson celebrates relay success at last year’s World Championships. (Getty Images)

Youth Basketball Guyana Tertiary Basketball League (round 4)

GSA, GTI and LTI on winners row in latest encounters

Action in the Y o u t h

B a s k e t b a l l Guyana Tertiary Basketball League, Round 4, continued at the National Gymnasium onMandelaAvenueoverthe weekendwithmatches.

Guyana School of Agriculture, Government Technical Institute and Linden Technical Institute recorded victories in the contestedmatches.

In Game 1 the Guyana SchoolofAgriculture(GSA) scored 57 points to defeat New Amsterdam Technical Institute (NATI) who managed41points.

For GSA, Shannon Wilsonledwith22points,20 rebounds, Vivian Bowling 10 points, 5 rebounds and Dennis Prince 8 points, 11 rebounds. NATI principal scorers were Timothy Rampersaud 16 points, 5 rebounds and Jared Dainty 10 points, 12 rebounds Game 2 was a blowout win for Government Technical Institute (GTI) as they b

The competition was keen at the National Gymnasium.

(UCC) by a 62 pts to 37 pts margin. GTI were led by PeterLangevine16points,7

rebounds, Jamal Mercier 14 points and Martin Edwards 11 points, while on the scoresheet for UCC were FrederickLashley24points, 6reboundsandAaronKing7 points. Game 3 resulted in

Action between Linden Technical Institute and the University of Guyana.

the Linden Technical Institute (LTI) overcoming University of Guyana (UOG)70ptsto-42pts.

The Linden outfit saw Kemol Grimmond pouring in 23 points along with 8

rebounds and 3 Assists, while Lerone Joseph had 11 points,11reboundsandNeil Marks 10 points. The UOG were spearheaded by Oroyo Trotman 16 points and Jushawn Bailey 13 points, 9 rebounds. The tournament will continue on Sunday, June 9th from 17:00 hrs (5:00pm) with the final round robin games to determinethesemi-finalline up.

Glasgow, De Rosario, Moriah-Welsh in Shabazz World Cup qualifier squad

EmanuelArchibald

Alexander Ogando

Omari Glasgow

Nathan Moriah-Welsh