urges transparent verification of Venezuelan poll; supports calls for electoral process, law to be upheld – as Opposition disputes vote results and protests grow
Govt inks US$8.6M agreement with Power China to construct control centre for GtE Project
GO-Invest hands over $3B investment agreement for dairy farm, milk processing plant – over 270 jobs to be created
Venezuelan sex worker raped, strangled to death – suspect arrested, confessed to crime
Guyana advances as leading regional investment hub AFC’s 2 am curfew "inadequate" – PNC withholds support ...says a data-driven, holistic approach is needed Duo intercepted with over 15kg ganja during Police operation
President Dr Irfaan Ali on Tuesday visited
BRIDGE OPENINGS
The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:
Wednesday, July 31 –00:30h-02:00h and Thursday, August 1 – 01:30h-03:00h.
The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:
Wednesday, July 31 –13:40h-15:10h and Thursday, August 1 – 14:45h-16:15h.
FERRY SCHEDULE
Parika and Supenaam departure times – 05:00h, 10:00h-12:00h, 16:00h, 18:30h daily.
WEATHER TODAY
Thundery showers are expected during the day, followed by sunny conditions from the mid-afternoon hours. Partly cloudy skies and thundery showers are expected at night. Temperatures should range between 23 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.
Winds: East North-Easterly to East South-Easterly between 2.23 metres and 3.56 metres.
High Tide: 13:23h reaching a maximum height of 2.15 metres.
Low Tide: 06:48h and 19:10h reaching minimum heights of 0.93 metre and 1.08 metres.
Guyana urges transparent verification of Venezuelan poll; supports calls for electoral process, law to be upheld
By Jarryl Bryan
As protests continue to rock the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was declared winner of the recent election despite widespread claims of electoral fraud, the Government of Guyana has joined calls from the international community for a transparent verification of the vote.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation emphasised the importance of ensuring that the Venezuelan elections reach the highest standards of transparency and accountability.
This is something that the unified Venezuelan opposition contends the 2024 elec-
election, what occurs on election day, and what occurs after that. And throughout the process, there are laws and systems governing the process,” President Ali said.
tions did not meet… amid allegations that opposition observers were blocked from entering polling stations and criticisms over the delay by the Venezuelan National Election Council (CNE) to release the voting tally sheets produced by each precinct.
“Elections are about people exercising their constitutional right to elect a government of their choice in a free, fair and transparent process. It behooves all to ensure the integrity of that process through the highest standards of accountability, transparency, and strict adherence to the rule of law, including the rules governing elections, to guarantee respect for the will of the people,” the Ministry statement said.
“Guyana therefore, supports the call for a transparent process of verification of the will of the Venezuelan people as exercised on July 28, 2024. The people of Venezuela deserve nothing less,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry also said.
During the closing press conference of the 47th Caribbean Community (Caricom) Heads of
supporting international calls, as well as calls from the Venezuelan opposition, for the process to be upheld.
“In an election, there is a process. In that process you have what occurs before an
“Our statement is factual… every mechanism that is provided for in the electoral system must be adhered to. And if there are calls, and there are calls from the international community and the
opposition, for one aspect of that process to be activated, then we support that call because it is part of the electoral system.”
Elections
Millions of Venezuelans turned out in record numbers to vote on Sunday, in what was widely seen as the biggest challenge to Maduro and his United Socialist Party of Venezuela’s (PSUV) 17-year grip on power.
This was particularly since the political opposition had united behind former Diplomat and Presidential candidate Edmundo González, who was the stand-in candidate after Opposition Leader María Corina Machado was barred from running.
There had been some optimism that this time, the Venezuelan election would be more transparent than previous ones and there had even been talk of what a transition of power would look like. But the results have left the country in greater turmoil than before.
Maduro has claimed that his party beat González, with more than 5.1 million votes to his rival’s 4.4 million.
Government meeting in St. Georges, Grenada, President Dr. Irfaan Ali was asked by the Caribbean media about this very statement and he made it clear that he was
Caricom Chairman and Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell (left) beside his predecessor as Chairman, Guyana's President, Dr Irfaan Ali
A demonstrator runs with a Venezuelan national flag between burning roadblocks during protests against election results after Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro and his Opposition rival Edmundo Gonzalez claimed victory in Sunday's presidential election, in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, July 29 (REUTERS/Samir Aponte)
The implementation of a 2 am curfew as was done by the former A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration and is now being called for by the AFC in Guyana cannot be the solution for reducing road accidents.
While the intention behind the call for this to be reinstated is commendable, its efficacy in addressing the causes of accidents on our roadways remains questionable. This former APNU/AFC policy was a superficial measure that overlooked the more critical factors contributing to road accident issues in the country.
The primary cause of road accidents in Guyana is not necessarily the time of day, but rather the dangerous driving behaviours and inadequate enforcement of traffic laws. Speeding, reckless driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol are prevalent issues that occur at all hours, not just in the early morning. A curfew may reduce the number of vehicles on the road after 2 am, but it does not address the behaviour of drivers during the hours leading up to the curfew or immediately after it lifts. Therefore, accidents caused by these factors will likely continue unabated.
While speeding, reckless driving, and driving under the influence are already illegal, the lack of consistent and stringent enforcement allows them to persist.
Moreover, the curfew could inadvertently create a rush to get home before the deadline, potentially increasing the likelihood of accidents just before 2 Am. Drivers, anxious to avoid penalties for being on the road after curfew, might speed or drive recklessly, negating the intended safety benefits of the curfew. Instead of fostering a culture of responsible driving, the curfew could encourage hasty and dangerous behaviour.
Another critical aspect is the lack of comprehensive driver education and stringent enforcement of existing traffic laws. Enhanced driver education programmes and stricter licensing procedures could have a more profound and lasting impact on road safety than a timebased restriction. Further, consistent enforcement of traffic laws is crucial. Without a robust system to deter and penalise traffic violations effectively, any curfew will only serve as a temporary and limited solution.
While the 2 am curfew call by the AFC seems to be a step towards addressing road safety concerns, it had failed under the APNU/AFC Government to tackle the underlying issues contributing to road accidents in Guyana. A more holistic approach, encompassing driver education and stricter law enforcement, is essential for making a meaningful impact on road safety. The AFC should shift its focus from the call for the implementation of a time-based restriction to actually helping the Guyana Police Force with a plausible solution.
Stricter enforcement of traffic laws is essential to curb road accidents in Guyana as by ensuring that existing laws are upheld and that violators face significant consequences, our roadways can be safer for everyone.
Recent statistics revealed a decrease in road fatalities for the period from January 1 to July 23, 2024, with 55 recorded deaths compared to 72 in the same period last year. Additionally, the number of fatalities resulting from accidents has decreased from 82 in 2023 to 66 this year.
The Government has introduced stricter laws to combat driving under the influence and the sale of alcohol to drivers. However, enforcing these regulations remains a significant challenge for the Police. From January 1 to April 22, 2024, the Police recorded 41,358 DUI cases, with 449 cases proceeding to court and 153 resulting in convictions.
City Councillor Leon Saul should use his pen to address the corruption and mismanagement at M&CC
Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to the recent letter by City Councillor Leon Saul, which is replete with empty rhetoric, false narratives, and misguided assertions about President Irfaan Ali and his administration.
Councillor Saul's depiction of President Ali's public engagements as mere theatrics is both misleading and unfair. It is common for leaders to engage with the populace in a relatable manner. President Ali’s interactions symbolise his approachable leadership style and efforts to connect with citizens on a personal level.
Contrary to Saul’s claims, the "One Guyana" initiative is far from a hollow slogan. It is a comprehensive vision aimed at fostering unity, inclusivity, and equitable development across the nation. The distribution of developmental benefits under President Ali’s administration has been more balanced and inclusive than ever before, with significant investments in infrastructure, healthcare, education, and housing that benefit all Guyanese, re-
gardless of political affiliation.
Saul’s portrayal of a strained relationship between the Central Government and the Georgetown municipality is a one-sided narrative that overlooks the genuine efforts made by the Central Government to collaborate on urban development projects. If there are issues of inefficiency and mismanagement within the municipality, it is the responsibility of local leadership to address them, not to deflect blame onto the Central Government.
Moreover, Councillor Saul’s criticism of the President's engagement with Stabroek Market vendors highlights a fundamental misunderstanding of leadership. The President’s direct interaction with citizens to address their concerns demonstrates a commitment to responsive governance, something that should be applauded rather than condemned.
Instead of using his platform to undermine the Central Government, Councillor Saul should focus on addressing the
real issues plaguing Georgetown. The city continues to struggle with garbage pile-ups, financial mismanagement, and poor service delivery. Despite receiving billions in taxes and subventions, the city remains bankrupt. Why are the residents of Georgetown not receiving the quality of services they deserve?
Councillor Saul should hold his PNCR colleagues accountable for their mismanagement and the inept performance of the council. He should commend President Ali’s Government for stepping in to save the people of Georgetown by investing in critical infrastructure, something the M&CC has failed to do.
President Ali’s administration has a commendable track record: increasing public servants' pay, raising old age pensions, distributing over 35,000 house lots, and reinstating the "Because We Care" cash grant for school children—a grant Saul’s party discontinued in 2015, claiming it was a waste of resources. Dr. Ali’s Government has made significant strides in every
aspect of Guyana’s development, including agricultural diversification, effective management of oil revenues, energy security, environmental sustainability, and public diplomacy, all contributing to Guyana’s improved global image and economic transformation. The fact of the matter is, Dr. Ali is a global leader with a common touch, a quality many leaders lack.
In just four years, President Ali has spent more time engaging with the citizens of Georgetown, listening to their concerns, and addressing their needs than the PNCR councillors have in the past two decades. It is easy to criticise, but one must ensure that criticism is based on facts, not figments of one’s imagination.
I urge Councillor Saul to dedicate more of his time to fulfilling his responsibilities—providing basic services to the people of the city—instead of hiding behind his pen to make baseless criticisms of the President, a man who has walked the walk.
Sincerely, Edward Layne
Paving has commenced on the four-lane interconnection (Red Road) between the East Bank Public Road and the Heroes Highway
Stricter penalties needed for gun and drug offenders
Dear Editor, I am writing to express deep concern regarding the escalating issues of gun violence and drug trafficking that are severely affecting our nation, Guyana. Given our relatively small population, these problems are disproportionately impacting our communities, destroying homes, instilling fear, and undermining the safety and security of our citizens. These problems are not only affect-
Dear Editor,
The sloth of justice in Guyana continues to manifest itself. Four years to get the case of the election to this stage is ridiculous, but it still falls short of the time it is taking to have justice delivered in the Crum-Ewing case. The AG was a fellow student with the deceased and his cry for justice when in opposition has grown silent during his 4 years in office. When will our QC alumni be allowed to rest in peace?
ing the quality of life but also undermining our societal fabric.
The current legal framework appears inadequate when it comes to addressing these severe offenses. Drug trafficking has become a sore community issue, as harmful drugs are easily accessible in many communities, most times the dealers are caught but because of the loopholes in our laws and sometimes corrupt security agents, they are
almost immediately released. It is alarming to observe that these individuals involved in drug and gun crimes are often granted bail, evade significant penalties, or face minimal fines. This leniency stands in stark contrast to the harsh punishments frequently meted out for lesser offenses.
The situation has reached a point where the prevalence of these crimes creates an environment of perpetual insecurity,
particularly noticeable around election periods.
The involvement of some members of our security forces in these illegal activities further intensifies the problem, eroding public trust and exacerbating the overall sense of lawlessness. Given the scale and severity of these crimes, we must implement stricter penalties to deter potential offenders and enhance public safety.
I urge the authorities
The sloth of justice in Guyana
It was the event that shifted the hold of power. Even the APNU+AFC have not done their job properly in this matter. The Murder She Wrote concert took place at the beginning of their term in office, but Justice in the Crum-Ewing case was never delivered.
As for the AFC’s Presidential candidate, he is now erasing all doubts by speaking up for those involved in the attempted theft of the last elec -
tions. His decision to place the earning of money before the democratic rights of the Guyanese people makes it very clear where he would stand when it comes to Exxon and his law firm.
Everyone who watched what took place during the last elections knows very well what happened. From the infamous signature to the bed sheet, no one has forgotten how wicked the election process became. The Presidential candidate
for the government is also questionable, but he has silenced many by spreading the wealth gained from oil. Even if the Canadians have decided to turn a blind eye to the 5 charges that they conveniently ignored and dropped over the last 4 years, the opposition has become complicit in their silence. The party goes on with the Ganja Defence Force and the Soca music plays loudly at SOCU.
Yet the blood of fallen
Guyana urges transparent verification of...
His results have also been certified by the CNE. But the opposition has insisted that González prevailed and that the tallies in their possession showed he won 6.2 million votes compared with Maduro’s 2.7 million.
Thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets protesting against Maduro’s declared victory, with statutes of Maduro’s mentor, late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, being toppled in scenes eerily similar to historical events in parts of the middle east.
And despite Maduro’s claims that these protestors are being stirred up by foreign influence, it has been reported that many of these protesters actually come from the sprawling hillside slums long considered strongholds of his own party.
Caricom position
Up to press time on Tuesday, Caricom had not come out with a unified position on the Venezuelan election… a fact that was questioned by a few media outlets during the closing press conference.
According to Caricom Chairman and Grenada
Prime Minister, Dickon Mitchell, there is no unified position because “elections in Venezuelan are a domestic matter”. The Prime Minister also shied away from taking a definitive position on calls for a transparent verification process of Venezuelan votes.
“It's not an indication that Caricom is divided. Caricom does not have to have a position. Elections in Venezuela are a domestic matter. Secondly, Venezuela is not a member of Caricom… we’re happy that the people of Venezuela got a chance to exercise their democratic right and engage in elections.”
“There’s no need for Caricom to have a position on this matter… I don’t know if there is a verification process. Elections are held everywhere. Sometimes they’re disputed, sometimes they’re not. Respectfully, it is not Caricom’s position to come out and say that they ought to be verification of any country’s election,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell did, however, acknowledge that individual member states and Heads of Government have been making their
own pronouncements on the Venezuelan election. One such member state is St. Vincent and the Grenadines, whose Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, expressed congratulations to Maduro the day after the election. Gonsalves even went on to urge Caricom itself to congratulate Maduro.
"There may be some countries which may wish to wait and see. I don’t know but that certainly will arise sometime today, whether in this morning session or in the caucus this afternoon. But I would like to see Caricom make a statement congratulating Maduro on his re-election to the presidency," Gonsalves, who played an integral part in brokering the Argyle agreement between Guyana and Venezuela last year, was quoted by Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) as saying.
Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit had meanwhile deferred to the CNE as the competent authority to oversee the election. CNE is headed by Elvis Amoroso, who was once the Vice President of the Constituent National Assembly that was set up
FROM PAGE 3
as a parallel parliament to Venezuelan’s official one in 2017. He has also represented the PSUV in the Venezuelan National Assembly as a lawmaker.
Meanwhile, St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Phillip Pierre had struck a cautious note in his interview with Caribbean News Agency (CANA), noting that while he cannot make a firm statement, it was his hope that a vote audit is done and reports from independent observers submitted.
Guyana and Venezuela are currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to determine a final resolution to the ongoing border controversy in which the Bolivarian Republic is seeking to annex more than two-thirds of Guyana’s sovereign territory in a unilateral move that has been widely condemned by the regional and international community.
Both countries have submitted their memorials and counter memorials, with Guyana and Venezuela given until December 9, 2024 and August 11, 2025 respectively, to make a second round of written submissions.
to consider the implementation of stricter penalties for offenders involved in gun-related crimes and drug trafficking. A more robust legal approach, including increased prison sentences and reduced bail privileges for these serious offenses, is essential to ensure that justice is served and to deter future crimes. Addressing this issue with the urgency it demands will not only bring much-needed relief and a sense of security to our citizens but also reinforce the rule of law in our growing oilrich nation.
alumni from our prestigious Queen’s College continues to cry out for justice from the ground. The sloth of justice in Guyana has been enabled by the ill-gotten riches of fools and the attainment of wealth at the expense of all. It has been forecasted that 22 major storms will
Thank you for giving attention to this critical matter. I hope that decisive action will be taken to safeguard our communities and restore public confidence in our justice system.
Sincerely,
Hemraj Vishaul Kissoon
take place this year. Beryl was just the first. Party on and enjoy the bounty if you must. Maybe the bounty that comes with a just existence will eventually be begotten.
Sincerely, Jamil Changlee
Page Foundation
Volume of a solid
You have learnt the customary units for measuring liquid volume in a container. However, if you want to know how many customary units a solid figure contains, or its volume, the units are called cubic inches, cubic feet or cubic yards. The metric equivalents are cubic centimetres, cubic metres or cubic kilometres.
To find the volume of a rectangular solid, multiply its length x its width x its height.
Volume = 7 x 2 x 3 = 42m3
1) A playfield measures 85 metres long and 80 metres wide. If a construction company is told that it needs 1 metre of gravel under the field for proper drainage, how many cubic metres does it need to order?
2) A shoe box has dimensions of 25 cm by15 cm by 4 cm. What is the volume?
3) What is the volume of a cube with sides of 10 cm?
4) A shipping box has dimensions of 8 cm by 6 cm by 8 cm. If a kilogram of candy takes up a cubic centimetre, how many kilograms of candy can you put in the box?
5) A cube with sides of 120 cm has how many cubic metres of volume?
Make an underwater volcano
In this fun and easy ocean science experiment, we’re going to make an underwater volcano to explore and investigate.
Materials:
Sink – An aquarium works great for this experiment if you have one available
Ice cubes
Glass bottle
Several bolts
Red food colouring
Instructions:
Put a plug in the sink and fill it with cold water. You can also add several ice cubes.
Carefully put several bolts or marbles into the glass bottle to act as weights. Fill the bottle with hot water.
Add a drop or two of red food colouring. Set the bottle in the sink and enjoy your underwater volcano.
How it works:
Heat rises so the hot water will flow up and out of the bottle creating an underwater volcano effect. You will be able to see the eruption because you added red
food colouring to the hot water. Volcanos beneath the surface of the ocean can create volcanic islands. The lava flows on the seafloor and can harden and build up over millions of years. These underwater mountains can grow and eventually breach the surface of the ocean thus becoming volcanic islands.
Make this a science project: Try adding salt to the water in the bottle and observe any differences in behaviour. Try adding cold water to the bottle and hot water to the sink. (sciencefun.org)
By Luis DanieL saLgaDo
When I was a boy I was either a child eating bugs or a child being eaten by bugs, but now that I am older am I a man who devours the world or am I a man being devoured by the world?
Someone once told me that mothers come from a different planet. And if she was correct then my mother was a warrior from that planet. And now that my mother is older the history that is her face is starting to look like a worn map. The hills that once were her cheeks now have roads carved into them that tell her secrets. The roots of her hair are starting to shimmer with silver that she colors once she sees ten or more.
She no longer cares for long hair. She says pelo largo is a young woman’s game. In a few years she will be older than my grandmother ever was.
Source: Poetry (March 2021)
Electoral fraud case
Mingo defied court order and presented results on bedsheet – witness testifies
...as testimony given in face of rampant objections from defence
Day two of the 2020 General and Regional Elections fraud case saw the testimonies of two of the prosecution’s witnesses being presented, including one, Local Government Minister Sonia Parag, detailing how the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) defied protests from observers and party reps, as well as a court order to call out fictitious results.
The trial continued on Tuesday before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly. Parag, who at the time of the elections was a People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) candidate and party representative, related to the court her experience at Ashmins’ Building and then GECOM’s office on High Street, where the infamous bedsheet tabulation took place.
Parag testified that despite a Court Order from acting Chief Justice Roxane George, which compelled GECOM to use only the Statements of Poll (SOPs) to tabulate the numbers for the Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica) votes, Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, one of those now on trial, continued to conduct the tabulation using a projector and bedsheet.
She further testified that both she and the European Union (EU) observer, protested that they could not see the numbers being projected on the bedsheet, to compare with their own numbers. However, their objections were ignored and GECOM pushed on until Mingo made his now infamous final declaration.
Both Parag and the prosecution’s second witness, Head of the Diaspora Unit Rosalinda Rasul, testified that
GECOM staff consistently ignored objections from party reps and observers when they called out results that did not match the SOPs in their possession.
But the day’s proceedings were also marred by multiple objections from the defense counsel, over various perceived breaches of court procedures. For instance, the defense objected to Parag's testimony naming APNU politicians such as Volda Lawrence, who she said remained silent when PPP/C and other parties were objecting to discrepancies in the results being called out by GECOM.
They also objected to her identifying then APNU rep James Bond, who was sitting in the tabulation center. In the case of Bond, the defense pointed out that Bond was not present in court to defend himself.
At one point, Special Prosecutor Darshan Ramdhani objected to the defense’s string of objections, even describing them as interfering with the proceedings. But when Rasul was called as the next witness, the deluge of objections continued.
For instance, the defense
objected to any testimony from Rasul that they claimed drew conclusions or opinions. Attorney-at-Law Eusi Anderson even raised objections to evidence about conspiracy, with Magistrate Daly informing him she would determine how to treat this.
In an interview with reporters outside the courtroom, Ramdhani described the defense’s objections as an effort to further prolong the trial. He noted that instead of having four witnesses take the stand, only two witnesses have been afforded that opportunity.
“We find what is happening, this continuous standing up unnecessarily is continuing to prolong this matter. We could have completed this witness already. We had four witnesses yesterday lined up, we had four separate witnesses today lined up and we are still just in the evidence in chief of one witness. Now, persons are sitting in court and they see what is going on,”
“I will continue to press the court that this evidence is relevant, this evidence should be admitted and we should be allowed to present this case. This is where we are…And I am very concerned that if a witness is not allowed to say
who she saw present when she has put that name in the statement given to the police, when this witness is not permitted to say when she said witnesses are objecting and to say what words are used in an objection. I am concerned,” he added.
However, Anderson had no apologies to make when he spoke to reporters after the adjournment. According to him, the defense’s point of contention remains that the witness cannot be allowed to testify to things that were not previously disclosed to the defense.
“What we have found is a lot of what is contained in the disclosed statements to us is not what the witness is referring to in her evidence in the witness box, and that continues to be an issue, it continues to be an issue of fairness, it continues to be an issue of ambush.”
“And we are deeply concerned about how it would affect the integrity of the proceedings going forward. That being said, we are confident that the court continues to do its very best to mitigate those risks and balance the situation as much as possible,” Anderson said.
The case was meanwhile adjourned to today at 9:30 hours, where testimony is expected to continue.
The trial is set to last from July 29 to September 13, some four years after the 2020 General and Regional Elections.
In addition to Mingo, former Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, his former Deputy Roxanne Myers, former People’s
National Congress/Reform (PNCR) Chairperson Volda Lawrence, PNCR activist Carol Smith-Joseph, and GECOM employees Sheffern February, Enrique Livan, Denise Babb-Cummings and Michelle Miller, are facing twenty-eight charges relating to electoral fraud. (G-3)
Former Region 4 Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo
Three of the accused, APNU Member of Parliament Volda Lawrence, former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield and his former deputy Roxanne Myers
Duo intercepted with over 15kg ganja during Police operation
Two men were on Sunday intercepted with 15 kilograms of marijuana during a police operation along the West Bank of Demerara (WBD).
The two men who were arrested with the marijuana
Based on reports received, police acting on information received, stopped a Toyota Axio motor car bearing registration number HD 3315 that was at the time being driven by Seon Haywood, 34, of Crane Housing Scheme, WCD. Selwyn Lovell,24, of Bagotville, WBD was the other occupant of the car. However, the vehicle was escorted to the La Grange Police Station where it was searched during which four black garbage bags with cannabis were found in the trunk. The cannabis when weighed amounted to 15,050 grams. They were taken into custody pending charges.
There are some from the PNC – well about a dozen of them anyway! – who’re jumping up and down every day in front of the GECOM HQ demanding “a clean voters’ list and “biometrics”. This, they insist, would stop rigging – which they swear was committed by the PPP!! The Government should pipe in a feed from the trial of the PNC riggers going on down the street so these worthies in the sun might learn that their demands had nothing to do with them losing the last elections. Didn’t the same voters’ list - WITHOUT biometrics – had the PPP drawn in 2011 and losing in 2015 to the PNC? Why didn’t the PPP manipulate these variables then – when in office – but couldn’t do so when they were out!! Folks really gotta pick sense from nonsense!!
Well, over in Venezuela, they don’t just have an undisputed voters list and biometrics – they used electronic voting machines in their just-concluded elections!! And yet most of South and Central America’s leaders think that Mad Maduro just rigged the Venezuelan elections!! As your Eyewitness had explained earlier, the Chávez/Maduro regimes are imitating the Burnhamite dictatorship in sooo many ways – including rigging elections!! The Burnhamite’s motto on the latter was “where there’s the will, there’s always gonna be a way”!! Especially when you have the loyalty of those in charge of the system!!
So,whereas in 2020, the PNC miscreants in the GECOM Secretariat messed around with the SoPs from the individual polling stations – which still haven’t been released by them – to rig, Mad Maduro’s minions in their Elections Council (CNE) have likewise refused to release the electronic versions from the 30,000 voting machines! Following Lowenfield, the Head of CNE merely issued a lump figure and asserted that Mad Maduro whooped the Opposition 51% to 44%!! In the meantime, the Opposition is showing its electronic SoP-equivalents to show that ITS candidate got 70% of the votes!! Which is more in line with some earlier polls taken!!
Protests have broken out all over Caracas and some other cities in protest against Mad Maduro’s rigging! Not so coincidentally, the elections were held on Chávez’s birthday – and Mad Maduro celebrated his “victory” in the evening by cutting a cake for his mentor!! At least THREE statues of Chávez have been toppled by the protestors. The army has remained loyal to Mad Maduro, because he’s taken care of them – even as the country and economy imploded while inflation rose to the skies. Almost every Venezuelan has relatives who’re part of the one-quarter of the population who have fled the living horrors created by the madman!! They want them to return!
We should expect Mad Maduro might create a diversion with Essequibo!
…for Emancipation soirees
One of the features of the Emancipation commemorations your Eyewitness has enjoyed over the years has been the “soirees” in the African-dominated villages on the eve before Emancipation Day. Which is tonight!! It’s interesting that even though the French ruled us for just a decade in total they left us with their evening party called “soiree” – just like with the carnival in Trinidad! There would be drumming, chanting, and Shanto dancing used to invoke the spirits of the African ancestors.
Just before midnight, everyone would move near the canal that led to a nearby Koker for the libation ceremony that would be sure to bring the ancestors into their midst!! The sport would last till dawn – but would seamlessly merge into the Emancipation Day activities.
Sadly, this year, there’s been a storm in a teacup created because the Government decided that the celebrations should be broadened and has assisted any group that wanted to participate in soirees, etc!!
And here your Eyewitness thought the more, the merrier!!
…for Caricom
Guyana has been one of the most faithful supporters of Caricom since Burnham helped launch it in 1973. So, imagine St Vincent PM Ralph Gonsalves congratulating Mad Maduro on his victory!! On Maduro’s say-so!!
The mouth is muzzled…
The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Guyana Times’ editorial policy and stance
Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com
GO-Invest hands over $3B investment agreement for dairy farm, milk processing plant
– over 270 jobs to be created
The Guyana Government on Tuesday handed over the investment agreement with Demerara Dairy Inc. (DDI) for the establishment of a $3 billion state-ofthe-art dairy farm and milk processing facility.
When completed, the establishment is expected to create 70 direct jobs and another 150 jobs indirectly.
The agreement was previously signed by the Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh and handed over by Guyana’s Chief Investment Officer (CEO) and Agency Head of the Guyana Office for Investment (GoInvest), Dr. Peter Ramsaroop to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) Komal Samaroo.
“Milk is a very internationally competitive commodity and so we have designed a dairy farm with updated technology in the world so that the milk that we produce in the farm in Guyana can compete in the regional market against milk imported from other parts of the world,” Samaroo explained.
The farm will be located at Moblissa along the LindenSoesdyke Highway. It will see the cultivation of 250 hectares of field crops, the construction of a 22-tonne per day animal feed centre, and a 13.7 tonnes per day raw milk dairy farm.
The processing plant will be at Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
The first phase will see the utilisation of some 925 animals (500 milking cows, and 415 heifers). Each cow is estimated to produce 10,000 litres of milk annually. The processing plant at Diamond will be capable of producing some 19.2 tonnes or 18,600 litres of premium milk products.
“We expect to have the first milk produced in the third quarter of next year. This investment agreement here today will allow us to install the necessary equipment to process and package that milk to an internationally acceptable standard for the domestic and export market,” Samaroo related. He noted that the DDL is on a major expansion programme, building brands on a competitive basis as he mentioned the launch of the Savannah Milk Brand a few years ago.
“There is an export opportunity and there is the reduction of import. So, on all sides of the economic spectrum, there are benefits that will accrue to Guyana,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ramsaroop noted that this will revolutionise the local dairy industry and reduce dependency on such imports. He noted that the Caribbean imports more than a billion (USD) worth of powdered and box milk from New Zealand and Australia.
“To see Guyana step into the production facility, we had an earlier investor Amaya that is taking milk from Region Five, and bottling it. This is now moving to a higher level. It’s in Region Ten, significant job opportunities will be available for Region Ten residents,”
Dr. Ramsaroop stated. Further, he pointed out that this fits into President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s vision and the vision of CARICOM reducing the food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025 and the efforts to brand Guyana as a major producer in agriculture. The investment is a joint venture between Tropical Orchard Products Company Limited, a subsidiary DDL, and LG Group, an Israeli company. Go-Invest played an active role in facilitating this investment.
Guyana Office for Investment Chief Investment Officer and CEO, Dr Peter Ramsaroop and Demerara Distillers Limited Chairman and CEO, Komal Samaroo
Officials at the signing ceremony
36MW power ship operating at 96% capacity to ensure reliable power supply – GPL's CEO
The 36-megawatt (MW) pow -
er ship at Everton, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice Corentyne) is operating at 96 per cent capacity and is expected to reach full capacity soon, according to acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) Kesh Nandlall.
The power ship started injecting power into the national grid in May. The vessel started injecting power into the national grid on May 9 and the plan was to incrementally increase the generating amount until the full 36 MW capacity is achieved.
Speaking with the Guyana Times on Tuesday, Nandlall explained that the ship’s generating capacity has been contributing significantly to the decrease in frequent power outages.
“Well, what it means is that we can deliver the power at 96% capacity onto the grid and that is powering the grid right now through our transmission network and distribution network… So, we were having a significant amount of load shedding as a result of generation shortfall. Right now
that is not the case. We may have some intermittent outages which are relating to the transmission and distribution network from trips and so on,” the GPL CEO shared.
According to Nandlall, there were no major issues experienced since the ship started to operate.
“It's really bringing reliability to an additional demand that has been created by the growth to the grid and so that we can also take some of our current engines down and do regular maintenance that we had, we have to
do and we are able now, we have some capacity in place so that we can carefully plan out our maintenance programme and execute those programmes so that we bring reliability to the system in delivering power to consumers.”
He nevertheless stated that the power outages that occurred over the last month were due to countrywide maintenance.
The floating power plant arrived in Guyana on May 1 and has been docked at Everton on the East Bank of Berbice in
Region Six (East BerbiceCorentyne), where it will be stationed for the next two years as it sends electricity into the national grid.
Three months ago, GPL signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Qatar-based Urbacon Concessions Investments, W.L.L (UCI) for the rental of the 36-MW floating power plant for two years in a move to add much-needed capacity to the grid. While the rental deal was signed
with UCI, the power ship is owned by Turkeybased Karpowership International.
As part of this agreement, GPL has already paid a US$1 million mobilisation fee.
The power company also has to pay a monthly charter fee of 6.62 US cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the power ship and a monthly operation and maintenance fee of 0.98 US cents per kWh based on electricity generated.
GPL is also required to provide Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) for the operation of the generators onboard the vessel. Before this, the Stateowned power company experienced generation shortfalls due to an unprecedented rise in electricity demand coupled with challenges from its aged equipment.
GPL was generating about 165 MW of power at the time; however, the peak demand is about 180 MW.
GPL’s CEO (ag), Kesh Nandlall
The transmission lines from the power ship connecting to GPL’s DBIS network at Everton, Berbice
Govt inks US$8.6M agreement with Power China to construct control centre for GtE Project
In keeping with its commitment to complete the Gas-toEnergy (GtE) project by 2025, the Guyana Government on Tuesday inked an agreement with Power China Caribbean to construct a national control centre.
The US$8.6 million facility is the final major piece of infrastructure needed to bring the GtE project on stream.
The contract signing ceremony was held at the Office of the Prime Minister, with Permanent Secretary Alfred King signing on behalf of the Government and Chief Representative Dan Shen signing on behalf of Power China Caribbean.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) Kesh Nandlall was also present and signed as a witness.
The facility when completed will house Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition/Energy Management Systems/ Generation Management System (SCADA/EMS/ GMS) equipment.
The equipment will enable GPL to collect, store, and manage national or regional networks to ensure reliable and stable power quality in Guyana.
Prime Minister
Brigadier Mark Phillips who is responsible for energy underscored the importance of the Control Centre, noting that it will play a crucial role in ensuring that government delivers on its manifesto promise to cut electricity costs by 50 per cent by 2025.
“We promise the people that we will reduce the cost of electricity by 50 per cent, and we will deliver on that promise. This is a very important component of the delivery of those promises that were made to the people as it pertains to the gas-to-energy project and the manifesto as a whole. So, we look forward to signing this contract to see work
start immediately and progress to the completion of this project so that we’re ready to deliver to the people the promised electricity and the necessary comforts that come to that by mid-2025,” the Prime Minister said.
In addition, the Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar urged the contractors to adhere to the stipulated deadline of 13 months.
“I know that we have a timeline to deliver the power plant, but at least we are here now, and this is the final major aspect of the entire gambit of projects that surround the gas-to-energy project. This is the final one be -
cause we already did the equipment piece. So that being said, I want to implore the contractor to keep on timelines, keep on specification, and keep on timelines, because this project, it’s looked at by everyone from everywhere,” Minister Indar said.
The GtE Project includes the construction of an Integrated Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plant and a 300-megawatt (MW) combined cycle power plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara, utilising natural gas from the country’s offshore operations in the Stabroek Block.
Upon landing on the
West Coast Demerara (WCD) shore, the pipeline would continue for approximately 25 kilometres to the NGL plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD).
A whopping $80 billion was allocated in budget 2024 to advance the project and its associated infrastructure, including transmission and distribution upgrades to offtake the power.
Between 2020 and 2023, investments have also been increased in clean renewable energy. Some 173 per cent increase in installed solar PV capacity – from 5.3 MW to 14.6MW has been recorded throughout Guyana.
For this year, work will commence on a 10MW solar farm in Berbice, an 8MW solar farm in Essequibo, and a 0.6MW solar farm in Leguan. The Government would be spending $4.8 billion to finance these projects.
In last year’s national budget, the project received a $43.3 billion allocation in addition to the $24.6 billion injected into the start-up of the transformational project, for the construction of an NGL Plant and the 300MW Combined Cycle Power Plant at Wales, WBD.
The inked agreement was displayed in the presence of Prime Minister Mark Phillips and other officials from the Government and Power China
Permanent Secretary Alfred King signed the contract on behalf of the Government and Chief Representative Dan Shen signed on behalf of Power China Caribbean
AFC’s 2 am curfew "inadequate"
– PNC withholds support
– says a data-driven, holistic approach is needed
The Peoples National Congress (PNC) on Tuesday described the Alliance For Change’s (AFC) call for the reintroduction of the 2 am curfew as “inadequate” to address road accidents.
“The PNCR has noted media reports that quote the AFC, in the person of its former Leader Khemraj Ramjattan, as saying that the 2 AM curfew should be re-instated as a measure to reduce road accidents and fatalities. Without any empirical data or statistical analysis, the PNCR cannot support the AFC’s proposal,” the PNC said in a state-
ment on Tuesday.
“Moreover, the PNCR is convinced that the road accident crisis cannot be resolved by merely one measure. It requires a holistic and data-driven approach, with continuous monitoring,” the party added.
The party stated that urgent and comprehensive actions are needed to reduce road accidents and fatalities on our roadways while add-
ing that it is alarmed over the sharp rise in road accidents, injuries, and deaths.
“This carnage has engulfed all our highways and all types of road users and vehicles: from pedestrians and motorcycles to cars, buses, and trucks.”
Further, the PNC stated that the national crisis requires urgent and robust government responses and proposed a review of traf-
fic accident statistics, be urgently undertaken to determine the range of causes for accidents and their relative contributions.
These include speeding, driver inattention, driving under the influence, animal/vehicle conflict, pedestrian/vehicle conflict, fixed object crashes, and intersection crashes.
In addition, the release added that safety audits must be conducted on our major roads like Essequibo Coast Road, West Coast and West Bank Demerara Roads, Linden-Soesdyke Highway, East Coast Road, and the Corentyne Highway.
“As part of this audit, all substandard design elements that contribute to reducing the safety of the roadway must be identified. Such elements could include rideability (the state of the surface of the road, e.g. the Soesdyke/Linden Highway which is now difficult to traverse), proxim-
ity of fixed objects to the carriageway, passing sight distances, and roadway turn design. This audit will allow us to direct the necessary funding to improve safety in a data-driven and targeted manner.”
Finally, the PNC recommends robust education and enforcement programmes.
During a press conference on Friday last, AFC’s past leader and former Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan called for the 2 am curfew to be reinstated.
“The AFC advises that
the 2 am curfew which was in place under the coalition Government be reinstituted. It would have avoided so many deaths on our roads,” Ramjattan said.
The 2 am curfew was often relaxed during the holiday periods when there would be higher-than-usual alcohol consumption among persons – thereby defeating the intended purpose of the curfew – to curb road fatalities, especially those caused by drunk driving. Moreover, the curfew was widely criticised as being anti-business.
Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton
Guyana advances as leading regional investment hub
With more than 200 business meetings, presentations on investment opportunities, a buzzing investment village, and the visiting delegates’ unforgettable experience of local tourism and hospitality, the Caribbean Investment Forum 2024 has strengthened Guyana’s image as a leading investment hub in the region.
Over 400 delegates comprising investors and business leaders from more than 30 countries from practically every region of the globe assembled at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre between July 10 and 12, to harness investment opportunities and foster sustainable and resilient economies.
The event energised the local tourism and hospitali-
Guyana will be a provider of cheap and reliable electricity.
The focus on infrastructural development is equally matched with attention to environmental preservation, ramping up agriculture
ty sector in Guyana, with city hotels experiencing a boom in occupancy and catering services going into overdrive. This spark was transferred to the discussions, which focused extensively on investment opportunities in sustainable agriculture development, the green economy, and the digitisation of businesses. The tone of excitement and eagerness was set by President Dr. Irfaan Ali, who opened the forum by declaring that Guyana’s friendly business climate makes it an investor’s paradise.
Guyana is open to investments in agriculture, energy, forestry, ICT, manufacturing, mining, services, and tourism. President Ali in highlighting the reasons for investing in Guyana, stated, “Guyana is the world’s fastest-growing economy, it is the ideal location to access global markets, we are resource-rich, we offer generous fiscal incentives for investments, and we have available multisector investment opportunities.”
To bolster his point, the President noted that Guyana upholds democracy, transparency, and accountability, and local sectors have been repositioned to global competitiveness with heavy investments in social development, food, climate, and energy securities.
The infrastructure landscape of Guyana is also rapidly changing, taking a modern look and presenting numerous investment opportunities. A new city, Silica City, the country’s first smart city, is being built, seven new hospitals are under construction, new housing schemes are being developed across the country, and with the Gas-to-Energy Project coming on stream,
production, and promoting Guyana as a global tourism hub. Guyana is utilising its forests to serve as the lungs of the world, leading efforts to slash the region’s food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025, and several internationally branded hotels are under construction. To ensure that citizens are highly skilled to lead a bright future, more
cent years, coupled with the expectation of being a construction zone for the next two decades, will position Guyana as the Jaguar Economy of this part of the world. “Guyana’s
ture.
Local companies
The exciting and innovative direction Guyana is heading was also captured by investors Simon Shaw, Ermath Harrington, and Sajjad Husain, who pitched their project proposals to eager investors. Shaw, the director of HUBU Aquafarm, produces organic shrimp and plans to upgrade the farm to include processing facilities and other works to tap export markets. Harrington’s HealthApp Solutions (Guyana) seeks to make healthcare services available in the palms of citizens, while Hussain of GUYIMEX International
Jaguar Economy is roaring to life, driven by a pioneering vision from President Dr. Irfaan Ali that integrates food, climate, and energy security.
than 20,000 local students have been awarded scholarships to pursue higher education, in addition to thousands more benefiting from government-funded technical training programmes.
Jaguar economy
“Guyana is playing in the big league”, said Guyana’s Chief Investment Officer and Agency Head of the Guyana Office for Investment (GoInvest), Dr. Peter Ramsaroop, who drew a parallel with nations of the East such as Singapore and South Korea, referred to as the Asian Tigers because of their phenomenal growth and development. The surge in economic growth the country has experienced in re-
With a strong track record of economic growth and optimistic forecasts, the country is poised for continued success. Impressively, Guyana has managed to safeguard its vast natural resources and biodiversity, demonstrating a commitment to sustainable development that sets a new standard for economic growth and I want you to be part of it,” he told investors and business leaders. He urged Guyanese businesses not to be left behind, but to partner where necessary with foreign companies and explore opportunities to actively participate in the global market. He also praised the local investment projects as greenfields in areas of energy, hospitality, and agricul-
Inc. is building a state-of-theart food production and storage facility. The latter project will utilise advanced technology and sustainable practices which aims to reduce dependency on food imports in keeping with President Ali’s 25 by 2025 vision for CARICOM. The local presentations were well received, and the Guyana Office for Investment will follow up on all local business-to-business meetings.
Immersive experience
The curtains for the conference came down with happy rooms of investors and business leaders, celebrated with an evening cocktail
hosted by President Ali at the State House. The next day, they were treated to a taste of Guyana’s tourism offerings. From savouring mouth-watering local dishes, and visits to historical sites and the majestic Kaieteur Falls, to thrilling boat rides and immersing themselves in the Indigenous culture, their experience in Guyana was truly remarkable and memorable.
Now that the Caribbean Investment Forum 2024 has concluded, Guyana looks forward to hosting the International Business Conference in October and the Energy Conference in February next year.
President Dr Irfaan Ali
A section of the gathering at Caribbean Investment Forum 2024 held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre
Panellists leading a discussion during Caribbean Investment Forum 2024 Chief Investment Officer and Agency Head of the Guyana Office for Investment, Dr Peter Ramsaroop addresses investors and business leaders at the recently-concluded Caribbean Investment Forum 2024
One of the more than 200 business-to-business meetings at Caribbean Investment Forum 2024
Buxton man dies after crashing into heavy-duty machine at Montrose
ABuxton, East Coast Demerara (ECD) resident was on Tuesday killed after he reportedly lost control of the car he was driving and slammed into a parked heavy-duty machine at Montrose, ECD.
Dead is 31-year-old Akeem Lewis of 82 Grover Street, Buxton, ECD. Based on reports received, Lewis was driving a motorcar PAF 9125 at a fast rate of speed when he collided with a minibus thus causing him to lose control and crash into the stationary vehicle.
He was pulled from the wreckage and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Eyewitnesses recounted that the car toppled several times before colliding with the heavy machine.
deaths compared to 72 in the same period last year.
Following the collision, the car ended up in a canal on the eastern side of the road.
Traffic Chief Mahendra Singh had recently highlighted that speeding, texting while driving, and driving under the influ-
Only last week Tuesday, 18-year-old Bibi Aleah Ali was killed while her common-law husband remains in a critical after the vehicle in which they were travelling slammed into a crane that was left parked along the Kiltearn Public Road, Corentyne Berbice. It was reported that her husband, Niraz Sukhdeo was driving a motorcar, PAF 6330 along the Kiltearn Public Road, allegedly at a fast rate, when he lost control of the vehicle and collided with a Crane.
ence remain the top traffic offenses posing significant risks on Guyana’s roadways.
Statistics from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) indicate a decrease in road fatalities for the period from January 1 to July 23, 2024, with 55 recorded
Additionally, the number of fatalities resulting from accidents has decreased from 82 in 2023 to 66 this year.
The government has introduced stricter laws to combat driving under the influence and the sale of al-
cohol to drivers. However, enforcing these regulations remains a significant challenge for the police. From January 1 to April 22, 2024, the police recorded 41,358 DUI cases, with 449 cases proceeding to court and 153 resulting in convictions.
52 new detectives complete CID induction course
– "You must go the extra mile"
– Crime Chief
The Guyana Police Force’s (GPF) Criminal Investigations Department (CID), which is spread throughout the various Regional Police Divisions, is expected to be strengthened soon, as over 50 ranks completed the department’s Induction course on Monday.
To commemorate the occasion, a small graduation ceremony was held at the Officers’ Training Centre, Camp Road, where the participants were presented with certificates and special awards.
The course started on June 10, 2024, and lasted for seven weeks, during which the participants were exposed to core topics critical to conducting criminal investigations.
It consisted mainly of police ranks as well as personnel from the GPF, Guyana Fire Service (GFS), Guyana Prison Service (GPS) and The Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) Female Constable
Abigail Abel was adjudged the best graduating student, while Constables Jered Harris and Anil Narine took second and third place, respectively. They were all rewarded with trophies for their extra effort and outstanding performances during the course.
The ranks who participated in the course were drawn from the various Divisions and Departments. They are expected to return
to their respective stations, where they will be able to dispense the knowledge gained in the various areas to solve crimes and prevent and detect them.
Deputy Commissioner ‘Law Enforcement’ (ag), Wendell Blanhum during his address, welcomed the new detectives to the world of criminal investigations and reminded them that detective work is not for the faint-hearted and that under his command, meritoc-
racy will be the key to their advancement in the department.
Further detailing what it takes to be an efficient detective, Blanhum stated, “CID work — it requires a combination of skills, including sharp intellect, keen observation, and excellent problem-solving skills.”
He urged the participants to apply the skills they would have gained
from the course to their everyday work and to always go the extra mile in the fight against crime.
“Criminal endeavours threaten the rule of law; hence, to be effective in the fight against crime, you must go the extra mile,” Blanhum added.
Also present at the ceremony were Director of the GPF Academy, Superintendent Sonia Herbert; Head of the
Major Crimes Unit, Superintendent Mitchell Ceasar; Head of the Criminal Records Office, Assistant Superintendent Fiona Fredericks; Head of the Cybercrimes Unit, Assistant Superintendent Jhared Koulen; Head of Crime Lab, Assistant Superintendent Ray Mercurius and Inspector Junior Blair, among other senior and junior officers.
The new CID ranks
Best graduating student, Constable Abigail Abel
The accident that was caught on CCTV camera
Dead: Akeem Lewis
Ramsammy’s Ruminations
Shining a spotlight on Guyana’s pioneering blue carbon strategy – The mangrove story
overnments matter.
GGuyana moves in a steep upward trajectory under People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Governments. Guyana seems to have reversed course into a steep downward trajectory under People’s National Congress (PNC)-led Governments. In Venezuela, unfortunately, another questionable (rigged) election appeared to have taken place on July 28. The exodus from Venezuela which has seen almost eight million people leaving that country in the past decade will now continue unless global efforts end the travesty in Venezuela. A Chávez-led government inspired her people; a Maduro-led Government has driven out people.
Dr Leslie Ramsammy
The story of mangroves in Guyana illustrates vividly that Governments matter. In the 1970s and 1980s, with the economic destruction under a PNC government, large swathes of mangroves were destroyed as people were forced to use mangroves for cooking and other purposes. The restoration project was a vision of President Bharrat Jagdeo and continued under President Donald Ramotar. Now President Irfaan Ali’s PPP Government is investing even more money into this project. It is another of the PPP’s contributions to the fight against climate change. The PNC-led APNU/AFC Government between 2015 and 2020 completely missed this policy-direction and made little to no investment for mangrove restoration.
Between 2012 and 2015, several groups, including from Victoria and Golden Grove, were contracted to plant mangrove seedlings along the shores of the East Coast, West Berbice, and Corentyne. Between 2015 and 2020, none of them were contracted. This is just one example of two governments with different visions.
Guyana is a major player on the global stage in the fight against global warming. On the adaptation front, while expanding and strengthening our pump station capacity around the country to deal with floods, Guyana has also been building more drainage infrastructure, such as the plan to build six more Hope-like canals and to rehabilitate or reconstruct existing sluices/kokers. On the mitigation front, Guyana has garnered global recognition for our Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and the willingness to safeguard Guyana’s rainforest, an important part of the global “lung” contributing to the sequestration of emitted carbon. Guyana’s carbon sink is not just protecting Guyana but helping the world reduce carbon in the atmosphere.
While the “greening” revolution is well-recognised, little attention has focused on the ”blue” front in the fight against global warming. In this regard, few have paid attention to the importance of mangrove restoration in Guyana’s fight against climate change. Like the LCDS, the Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project 2010-2013 was launched under President Jagdeo and continued under President Donald Ramotar. From a mitigation perspective, mangroves are powerful sequesters of emitted carbon. The expansion of the mangrove cover along Guyana’s shorelines and along river banks helps to expand Guyana’s carbon sink. Outside of this significant climate change mitigation role, the mangrove forests along the shores also protect against rising sea levels, thereby adding to Guyana’s repertoire of climate change adaptation initiatives.
Although, the project initially was a stand-alone project with a Project Execution Unit (PEU) within the Ministry of Agriculture, by 2014, we integrated the project within NAREI. The project by then had evolved from a restoration project, seeking to replace mangroves in areas where they were removed in the 1970s and 1980s, to a restoration and expansion project. Between 2015 and 2020, with the new APNU/AFC Government, the mangrove restoration project grounded to a halt. Since 2020, under the leadership of President Irfaan Ali and Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, the project has again gained momentum. Governments do matter.
Mangrove forests are critical for carbon sequestering, reducing flood risks, and protecting water quality and the ecosystem of wetlands, including sustaining plants; microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, and algae); invertebrates; birds and mammals. These ecosystems with their unique microbiome also support the sustainability of the bee population. In areas such as Victoria on the East Coast, the mangroves contribute to a bustling honey industry.
Mangroves are up to 10 times more powerful in sequestering carbon than mature forest cover. The blue carbon strategy has not yet been fully explored and Guyana under then-President Bharrat Jagdeo and now under President Ali is leading fighters for recognition of blue carbon in the fight against climate change. Presently in the world, mangrove forests are responsible for the storage of about 21 billion metric tons of carbon, which amounts to about one-third of carbon emitted in 2021. The carbon-plus capacity of blue carbon, therefore, makes restoration and expansion of mangrove forests imperatives for the Paris Agreement and for achieving SDG 14. To understand how important the blue carbon mangrove capacity is, note that mangroves account for only 0.7% of the total global tropical forest area, but mangrove deforestation presently around the world accounts for more than 10% of total emissions linked to deforestation.
Global mangrove deforestation since 1996 is approximately more than 11,000 km2; about 8000 km2 of which are man-made and recoverable. Just restoring the 8000 km2 of man-made mangrove destruction will help to sequester about 1.27 gigatons of CO2, equivalent to 520 million barrels of oil or the emissions from 49 million cars.
As we did with our rain forest, pioneering the LCDS, we are also pioneering the “blue” fight against global warming. President Ali is not shy in recognising the pioneering visionary work that was started under Bharrat Jagdeo, and continued by President Donald Ramotar. Instead of abandoning the initiatives, as President Granger did, he built on them. Since 2010, Guyana has invested almost $2B in the restoration and expansion project for mangroves, with about $0.8B coming between 2021 and 2024. President Ali has vowed to increase investment even more rapidly. He is a visionary leader, taking the mantle of leadership for the “blue” fight.
It is why Guyana is seen as a leader in the fight against climate change, and why Guyana has best practices in the global repertoire of climate adaptation and mitigation activities. President Jagdeo was named Champion of the Earth for the LCDS. President Ali can become a Champion of the Earth for his “blue” fight against global warming.
MMG hosts developer webinar on E-Commerce API
Mobile Money Guyana (MMG) recently announced the launch of its new E-Commerce API to enhance e-commerce in Guyana by providing shoppers with a convenient way to pay online for goods and services using MMG and giving local businesses a boost in their shopping experience offered.
In light of this new feature, MMG on Friday last hosted a webinar for developers thus recognising them as key players who will be the bridge to provide support to local businesses to integrate their online platforms successfully with MMG.
"We are thrilled to offer this API to the developer community,” Director of Merchant Services at MMG,
that drive growth and customer satisfaction."
es and consumers. Over 100 attendees
Elizabeth Timal-Tatkan stated while adding "Our goal is to empower developers to create exceptional e-commerce experiences
The webinar featured a live demonstration of the e-commerce API, extensively showcasing its functionality and benefits to business-
also had the opportunity to participate in a Q&A session with MMG's team of experts, which included Deson Alleyne, Systems
Administrator at MMG who conducted the presentation. Public figures and wellknown developers Rowen Willabus and Carl Handy also joined as panelists in partnership with MMG to show support for this initiative.
“Kudos to the MMG team... we really appreciate you and thank you for creating a warm space for us [developers],” Rowen Willabus stated.
This initiative was the first of its kind in Guyana and it was positively received by all attendees of the webinar. Efforts will be continued by the MMG team to remain close to the developer community to further enhance the e-commerce landscape in Guyana through future collaborations.
In closing remarks, Timal-Tatkan also encouraged the developers to target local businesses to provide them with the tools and talent to help them digitalise their payment options.
13 trained in Intensive Cleft Palate Speech Therapy
The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) in collaboration with Smile Train Guyana successfully hosted an intensive Cleft Palate Speech Therapy Training for local speech therapists and Rehabilitation Assistants from July 21-26, 2024.
This initiative aimed to enhance the skills of professionals in diagnosing and treating cleft palate speech disorders across Guyana.
The training saw participation from representatives of the David Rose School, Palm’s Rehabilitation Clinic, Diamond Special Need Speech Therapy and Audiology Centre, Ministry of Education Diagnostic Centre, Ptolemy Reid Center, Fort Wellington Hospital, and Lethem Regional Hospital.
A total of nine therapists and four rehabilitation assistants were trained, including one rehabilitation
assistant and two Speech Language Therapists based at the Speech Therapy Department at GPHC.
In March 2024, four representatives from Guyana attended a similar training in Barbados.
Inspired by this experience, the idea was conceived to invite Speech
Language Pathologist and Professor of Practice at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City, Dr. Catherine Crowley to Guyana.
Dr. Crowley, who is also a member of Smile Train's Global Medical Advisory Board, led the training sessions, providing invaluable
expertise and guidance.
The training not only focused on building the capacity of local professionals to diagnose and treat cleft palate speech disorders but also aimed to empower these newly trained therapists to further train others in regions that could not attend the session.
Rehabilitation Assistants, strategically placed at various health facilities across all ten regions of Guyana, perform essential physical, occupational, and speech therapy services. Currently, Regions Four, Five and 10 have dedicated speech-language therapists. During the training, ten patients who had previously undergone cleft palate surgeries, along with their parents, participated and received two daily therapy sessions, each lasting 45 minutes.
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MMG Team and developers
MMG Team along with some of the developers
One of the trained personnel along with Dr Crowley and another official
Venezuelan sex worker raped, strangled to death
– suspect arrested, confessed to crime
AVenezuelan sex worker was on Monday evening raped and strangled to death at Quartzstone Landing, Region Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) after requesting additional fees for her services. The woman has been identified as 26-yearold Miracarmen Rodrigues Serrano.
The suspect – a 25-yearold man has been arrested and confessed to the crime.
Based on reports received, Miracarmen along with the suspect and others were seen partying at a shop in the area at about 2:00h. After some time, the woman and the suspect left but returned shortly after and continued drinking.
However, at about 03:00h, the shop owner re -
195 selected for 1st int’l human rights law course
The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance has created its very own educational programme – the first ever international Human Rights Law Course in the country – for which over 190 persons are already registered.
Initially, some 1000 persons submitted applications to be a part of the course but only 250 were shortlisted and presently 195 were enrolled.
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira on Monday during the launch of the course spoke of the tremendous support it has received.
“In the first few hours, we had 300 applications. I said you've got to be kidding. That's crazy. Well, it went up to over 1,000, and that's when we said, now what do we do? How do we manage this one? So what we decided to do, we had a lot of dis-
gramme stemmed from an urgent need to sensitise citizens about human rights and its importance.
“We assumed that people knew about basic things like human rights, and as we went on our sojourn, we discovered that people thought they knew human rights but didn’t, so we started play-
open to persons who may or may not have degrees or may or may not have the same requirements or eligibilities to go to the University of Guyana.”
Moreover, the Minister encouraged participants who would have completed the programme to use the knowledge gained to tackle
cussions, and we broke it down to 250.”
On this point, Teixeira revealed that even though only a small number of applicants were selected, the ministry made it its duty to select persons from different levels of education and geographical locations among other conditions.
“We wanted to try to be as inclusive as possible both in terms of geography in terms of gender, in terms of the level of education and that of course in this group you will have persons who come from the public sector and the civil society” she stated.
Additionally, the minister revealed that the pro-
ing with the idea of doing an International Human Rights Law Certificate programme.”
In this regard, the minister noted that the ministry has conducted several programmes over the years which mainly catered to the staff of government agencies however there was a recognised need to administer the programme to a larger audience.
“We recognised too that again there was a lack of real connection with our own constitution, our own laws, so we started playing with the idea of doing an international human rights law certificate programme of our own that would be
Dead: Miracarmen Rodrigues Serrano
lated that he saw the suspect and Miracarmen leaving the shop, and went to her room. Soon after he heard loud noises and assumed that they were having sex and as such, he retired to bed.
Shortly after, the shop owner stated that he heard the door to the woman’s room opened and someone left. He later got up and upon enquiring, he saw the woman lying on the floor with her underwear on her left foot. He recalled locking the door and going back to bed.
At about 07:30h, he again went to check on the woman and found her in the same position that he had left her and was in an unconscious state. At that time, he alerted several persons and reported the matter to the police. The woman reportedly died while being transported to
Quartzstone Waterfront.
Meanwhile, the suspect was later arrested and during interrogation, he related that that after he and the victim had sex, he requested to have sex again.
The woman, however, told him he had to pay another sum of cash but he attempted to forcefully have sex with her. She reportedly put up a fight thus biting him a few times about his body. He retaliated by 'choking' her, forcefully had sex with her, and then left her lying unconscious on the floor. The suspect remains in custody pending charges.
13 trained in Intensive Cleft...
problems that Guyana as a society is facing currently.
Meanwhile, the course will cover some ten weeks of detailed training sessions, facilitated by several high-level officials well versed in the law and human rights matters, including Chief Justice Roxanne George.
This first edition of the course will commence on August 5, with classes being held two times per week virtually via Zoom. Inperson sessions will be held in various areas in the capital city, determined by the ministry. The Ministry is contemplating offering the course twice yearly from 2025.
Remarkably, two patients were discharged after demonstrating significant competency in their therapy sessions.
The impact of this training extends beyond children who have benefitted from cleft palate surgeries. Adults who have lost speech capacity due to conditions such as tracheostomy or swallowing disorders will also benefit from the expertise of the newly trained therapists and assistants. Speech therapy is crucial for patients with cleft palate repairs to help them utilise their new
palates to produce correct sounds and overcome habitual errors caused by the previous condition.
Dr. Crowley emphasised the importance of speech therapy following surgical interventions, stating, "While the surgical repairs are life-changing, patients need support to use their new palates effectively, which is where speech therapy plays a vital role."
During the training, Dr. Crowley was supported by ten graduate students from Columbia University, who volunteered to assist with the sessions.
Ideally, patients who have undergone cleft repairs should receive quality speech therapy for 12 weeks to a year to achieve optimal speech improvement. This collaborative effort between Smile Train Guyana and GPHC underscores a shared commitment to improving the lives of individuals with cleft palate conditions and ensuring that both children and adults in Guyana receive the necessary support to enhance their speech and overall quality of life.
The trained therapists and rehab assistants
The suspect shortly after he was arrested
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira
20 now certified as NIS inspectors
– urged to uphold the principles of social security
Twenty persons from this year’s cohort of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) Inspector Training Programme have completed the course and are equipped with the necessary tools to uphold the principles of social security.
est standards of service, the NIS must finance programmes such as these to ensure their workers are well-trained.
“We recognised that it is important for us to invest in training of our employees for them to be empowered as well as be able to give the best service to our contributors, beneficiaries and pensioners”
On this point, Greaves stated that to ensure citizens are receiving the high-
The group of people received their certificates at a simple ceremony on Thursday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) where the General Manager of the scheme Holly Greaves related that this year’s programme marks a vital milestone in the professional development of the graduates who would have committed themselves towards learning the importance of upholding the principles of social security.
Additionally, she revealed that participants were well-trained throughout the programme and as such she expressed confidence in them that would effectively carry out their duties and uphold the standards of the NIS.
“Our graduates have
Banks DIH Ltd signs MoU to be exclusive distributor of Daikin AC units
Banks Automotive and Services Inc. (BASI) has been incorporated since 2019 and since then, it has been collaborating with one of the world’s largest air conditioning manufacturers, Daikin. Additionally, BASI’s parent company, Banks DIH Limited, has been collaborating with Daikin for many years.
On Friday, BASI signed a nonexclusive distribution agreement with Daikin Applied Latin America, to become the official distributor in Guyana.
Through this agreement, BASI will be able to offer a comprehensive range of products including residential and commercial air conditioning systems.
Daikin Caribbean Regional Manager Gustavo Perez highlighted the benefits of this partnership.
“We have had a relationship with Banks for more than 15 years, based on their participation in the industry and the confidence we have in this company. We decided a few months ago to make them our ally. We expect end users, customers, and contractors in Guyana to see and experience the technology we offer around the world,” he stated. Additionally, Perez pointed out a five-year ex-
pectation for Guyana in which Guyana can be assured of some of the latest technology in the Air conditioning realms.
“Daikin is the number one AC company worldwide. We bring the latest technology and have great expectations for the next five years in Guyana. This is a longterm commitment. The development happening today in Guyana makes having a Daikin showroom here very
and reliable climate control solutions.
BASI was incorporated in Guyana on May 2, 2019. Its registered office is located at Block X Plantation, Ruimveldt, Georgetown. The parent company, Banks DIH Ltd., is a public company incorporated in Guyana.
With Banks Automotive and Services Inc. collaborating with Daikin, Banks will be able to supply a comprehensive range of prod-
important. We aim to support end users, contractors, and the AC industry directly.”
The company is committed to building local capacity through training.
“We are working with Banks’ team of engineers, providing training and certification with support from our technicians in Japan and Miami. This has been ongoing for more than six months, preparing us to support all current and future projects with Daikin technology,” Perez revealed.
Banks Automotive and Services Inc. will supply a comprehensive range of Daikin products, including residential and commercial air conditioning systems. They will offer full-service support for these products, ensuring top-quality service
undergone three months of vigorous training which provided them with the knowledge, expertise, and practical skills that are needed for their role in the National Insurance Scheme.
I am confident that with the training received, they are well equipped to ensure the effective compliance of the National Insurance and Social Security Act Chapter 36:01 which governs the collection of contributions” she posited.
Meanwhile, also delivering remarks at the graduation ceremony was Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh who highlighted that the past and recent batch of graduates underscores the government's commitment towards bolstering the National Insurance Scheme.
“I want, first of all, to congratulate all of you on your successful completion of this training programme. And I want, of course, to wish you well as you embark on your respective ca-
reers within the scheme. I want also to say very clearly that I don't view this as merely another graduation exercise with another 20 new inspectors completing a training programme. For example, this graduation, like those who have come before it, last year's cohort and the cohort the previous year, the year before that, represent a very important part of our government's ongoing effort to strengthen the scheme,” Dr. Singh added.
Additionally, the minister noted that the National Insurance Scheme is the only form of social security available to Guyanese citizens. As such he urged the new batch of inspectors to effectively carry out their duties to ensure all Guyanese who have given in their NIS contributions during their years of work get the benefits they legally deserve upon retirement.
The scheme was one of the first institutions established in a newly indepen-
dent Guyana with the recognition of how important it was to have some form of national insurance and social security.
“For almost all Guyanese, the National Insurance Scheme represents the only form of social security that they have at their disposal. It represents the only form of medical insurance and unemployment insurance that they have. And for many people, it represents the only pension that they will get upon their eventual retirement. Considering the reality that most people, when they attain age 60, they are dependent on and expectant of this National Insurance pension that they legitimately expect to get” he asserted.
The NIS inspector programme lasted a total of 65 days comprising of 54 days of classroom sessions and eleven days of work studies, notably, this year’s programme received 100 percent passes.
GAWU hopeful about future of sugar industry due to several interventions
Ahighly promising future is foreseen for the sugar industry in Guyana following recent interventions aimed at boosting production.
ucts including residential and commercial air conditioning systems.
BASI will provide full-service support for Daikin products, including installation, maintenance, and technical services which will subsequently ensure customers receive top-quality service and reliable climate control solutions.
Daikin Air Conditioning Units: the company offers a comprehensive range of Daikin products, including residential and commercial air conditioning systems. Further, BASI will provide full-service support for Daikin products, including installation, maintenance, and technical services, ensuring customers receive top-quality service and reliable climate.
This optimism was shared by the president of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers' Union (GAWU) Aslim Singh during a recent televised programme.
“There are initiatives now that are being forwarded to bring the industry up to standard mechanisation, improve yields, new varieties of cane, improving the factories, also the value-added initiatives like packaging, and there are some other things that I know Guyana is examining, to innovate and to make the operations much more efficient and to take it in a new direction, a direction which it should have gone to in a long time,” Singh stated.
According to the GAWU President, this upscale aligns with the broader growth that Guyana has been experiencing recently.
“We're in exciting times, we are in times where we see a much brighter future
ahead, an era in our country where I think our dreams, our long-held dreams can become reality. I think, you know, a critical element, an important element in our future will be sugar,” he stated.
Singh also highlighted a recent statement by President Dr. Irfaan Ali, emphasising Guyana's potential to supply sugar to the entire Caribbean.
“I saw President Ali saying the other day and reiterating his government's commitment to the industry that he believes, and I share his view, that Guyana can produce all the sugar that the Caribbean needs. Dr. Singh did allude to earlier that sugar in many other parts of the Caribbean has been downsized and they, unlike us, have deficits with land. We don't have that.”
Acknowledging the traditional notion that mechanisation may displace labor, he explained that in the context of Guyana’s sugar industry, it is intended to augment labor.
He further elaborated,
“We are supportive of mechanisation in the sense of augmenting labor and making labor more productive because we see if a more productive industry, a more productive labor force, improves the conditions in industry economically, which will be beneficial to all parties in the industry.”
“This is because we also have the challenge of more economic competition now in the labor market. And therefore, the ability of the industry to attract and retain its labor is also becoming more difficult,” he stated.
Some of the Daikin AC Units on display at the launch
Daikin Caribbean Regional Manager Gustavo Perez
GAWU Secretary, Aslim Singh
Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh
The batch of 2024 NIS inspectors
Caricom remains on course with 25 by 25 food security initiative – Pres Ali
– reiterates calls for regional, int’l organisations to accelerate assistance
Despite the destruction of the region’s agriculture sector caused by Hurricane Beryl, which President Dr. Irfaan Ali has estimated is more than US$150 million, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) is still on track to achieving its 25 by 2025 food security agenda.
The President, who is the lead Head of State on food security in the region, made this pronouncement during the closing press conference for the 47th Heads of Government meeting in St. Georges, Grenada- one of the hardest hit countries by the hurricane. According to President Ali, all the indicators point to the significant progress the region has made in slashing its food import bill.
“We were and continue to be, on track in relation to the targets we would have set. Deployment of technology, the use of innovation, the expanded involvement of youth and women in agricultural production and food systems, the expansion of production itself, and the reduction of imports, all point
to the fact that we have successfully navigated the challenge of reducing the food import bill.”
“As a matter of fact, before Beryl, we saw a reduction in our food import bill of about 12 per cent and that is more than $500 Million. We saw expansion in cultivation and production from almost
every member state. So, we are confident, with the investments we are making and with the type of dedication and policy formulation, from heads in the region as a whole, notwithstanding the challenges before us.”
President Ali did, however, reiterate calls for support from all regional and inter-
national organisations, revealing that CARICOM also had a meeting with Canada to discuss support for the region. According to him, they discussed ways in which Canada can accelerate support for the region, particularly after the destruction caused by Hurricane Beryl.
“We will be successful in
reducing that food import bill and expanding our production, especially now, focusing on high yielding, high value, short rotation crops. Especially for the tourism sector, and that would help our Agribusinesses to generate more revenue and also to be more sustainable.”
“From initial assessment, the damage to the sector from Beryl is more than US$150 Million and that is only the initial assessment. We have not even put a cost on land degradation. Because for example, in Grenada we visited some areas where obviously there was tremendous land degradation,” the President also said.
Guyana is currently chairing the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Ministerial Task Force on Food Production and Food Security, which has been driving the ‘25 by 2025’ initiative seeking to boost food production within the region to reduce food imports.
Vision 25 by 2025 aims for the Caribbean to achieve a 25 per cent reduction in the Region’s food import bill by 2025. Owing to the Region’s
dependency on imported foods, it faces hardships when disruptions occur.
In light of this, the intention was to formulate a sense of food stability and security… country by country, with Guyana playing a key role in helping other countries achieve greater food security. Only days ago, President Ali revealed that the Guyana Government intends to use science and technology to advance the agricultural sector.
This includes initiatives such as developing an industrial cassava flour mill, producing refined and organic sugar, and establishing a regional data facility. During the launch of the Regional Economic Agri-Insurance Programme (REAP), the Head of State mentioned that these initiatives are being pursued in collaboration with partners such as the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and others.
Govt will not tolerate delays by employers in paying NIS contributions on time – Dr Singh
During his speech at the National Insurance Scheme’s (NIS) graduation ceremony for Trainee Inspectors, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service, Dr. Ashni Singh, noted that while the Government and NIS have successfully addressed the 18,000 backlog cases in the system from August 2020 to the present, he acknowledged that "we are not where we need to be."
“Far too many people attain the age of retirement and then encounter difficulties to get their pension and there are still far too many people who have gone past their retirement age who are still unable to access their benefits from the Scheme,” the Minister
emphasised.
He pointed out that often the responsibility is not that of the Scheme but rather as a result of several employers who, despite it being lawfully required for them to pay over their employees’ contributions to the Scheme, do not do so, and therefore, upon the age of retirement, persons then discover that this was not being done or that there were gaps in the payments.
“That is not acceptable!” the Minister said, as he noted that as a result of a targeted and dedicated effort by the Government and the National Insurance Scheme with a focus on the security sector, the Government and NIS, over the last three weeks to a month, were able to get several private security companies to pay contributions for more than
2,100 security guards for which they were previously not paying.
“This Government’s position is that we have zero tolerance for employers failing to pay over NIS contributions to the Scheme, Dr. Singh said as he charged the NIS to im-
mediately ramp up efforts to ensure that employers are paying over NIS deductions to the Scheme for all of their (the employers’) employees.
“This is not a discretionary matter; the law requires you to deduct the employee NIS contribu-
tions and for yourself (the Employers contribution) and to pay it over to the NIS in a timely manner… and I am saying to employers out there today that Government will not tolerate the failure to pay over or remit in a timely manner NIS contributions on behalf of employees, not only current employees but if you have any backlog please make sure that you come in promptly to the Scheme and pay off that backlog,“ the Minister urged.
Dr. Singh also used the opportunity of today’s forum to appeal to citizens to check on their records and contributions in good time and not wait until they reach the age of 60. He urged self-employed persons as well to contribute to the Scheme and not wait until they are in their
fifties or sixties when they will not be able to benefit or be able to achieve 750 contributions.
The Minister congratulated the graduands and charged them as new inspectors to approach their jobs in a strictly professional manner and to be proactive and diligent.
Thirty persons today graduated during a simple ceremony held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) which was attended by several officials of the NIS including its General Manager Ms. Holly Greaves and members of the NIS Board. The ceremony provided for the graduation of twenty new Inspectors, four Customer Service Representatives, two Internal Auditors, and four Nurses for Sick Visitors.
Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh
President Dr Irfaan Ali, during a visit to a shade house in La Sagesse, St David, Grenada on Tuesday. He was accompanied by Grenada Prime Minister and Caricom Chairman, Dickon Mitchell
Venezuela protests grow as Opposition disputes vote results
Opposition protesters rally across the South American nation as Nicolas Maduro’s election victory spurs fraud claims.
Protesters have taken to the streets again in Venezuela as opposition leaders are disputing the results of a weekend election that saw President Nicolás Maduro secure another term in power.
The opposition’s Maria Corina Machado called for families to turn out on Tuesday for “popular assemblies” across the South American nation.
Machado told reporters a day earlier that a review of available voting records from Sunday’s election showed that presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez had
states by Monday evening with “numerous acts of repression and violence” carried out by paramilitary groups and security forces.
At least 11 people had been killed in incidents related to the election count or the protests, rights group Foro Penal said Tuesday.
“In just one day, we had 11 deaths,” the organisation’s chief Alfredo Romero told reporters in Caracas, expressing concern about “the use of firearms” in the demonstrations.
Meanwhile, Venezuela opposition party Voluntad Popular said in a social media post on Tuesday that its national coordinator Freddy Superlano had been detained.
Gonzalez, the opposition presidential candidate, has
a “fascist and counter-revolutionary” nature.
His government has called the protesters violent agitators and Maduro on Tuesday directly blamed Gonzalez, his presidential challenger, for the deteriorating situation.
“I hold [Gonzalez] responsible for everything that is happening in Venezuela, criminal violence … the wounded, the dead, the destruction,” said the Venezuelan leader, who first came to power in 2013 after the death of his mentor and predecessor Hugo Chavez.
Maduro also warned that “justice will come”.
His campaign manager Jorge Rodriguez had called for “large marches starting this Tuesday to celebrate the victory”.
achieved a “categorical and mathematically irreversible” victory over Maduro.
The two opposition leaders appeared at a gathering in the capital of Caracas on Tuesday. “What we are fighting here is a fraud by the regime,” said Machado, urging peaceful protest.
A large crowd, many waving Venezuelan flags, chanted: “We are not afraid!”
Opposition protesters also marched in the cities of Valencia, Maracay, San Cristobal, Maracaibo and Barquisimeto throughout the day.
The demonstrations come a day after Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) formally confirmed that Maduro had been re-elected by a majority of Venezuelans to another sixyear term as president “for the period 2025-2031”.
That announcement fuelled widespread anger and pushed thousands of Venezuelans to take to the streets of several neighbourhoods in Caracas and elsewhere to voice their opposition to Maduro and his government.
A local monitoring group, the Venezuelan Conflict Observatory, said it had registered 187 protests in 20
urged the country’s security forces to “respect the will” expressed at the ballot box on Sunday and “stop the repression of peaceful demonstrations”.
“We Venezuelans want peace and respect for the pop-
Earlier in the day, Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said Maduro had the “absolute loyalty and unconditional support” of the armed forces. Maduro is “our commander in chief, who has been legit-
ular will,” he wrote on social media on Tuesday.
Maduro dismisses criticism
Maduro has dismissed international criticism and doubts about the result of Sunday’s voting, saying without any evidence that Venezuela was the target of an attempted “coup d’etat” of
imately re-elected”, the minister said in a televised message.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab told reporters that 749 people had been arrested during the protests so far, adding that most would be charged with “resisting authority and, in the most serious cases, terrorism”.
Renata Segura, programme director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera that there are concerns over the prospect of a widespread protest crackdown.
“As pressure continues to build around President Maduro, as Latin America and the rest of the world is refusing to acknowledge his winning in the polls unless he shows proof that there was no
press their views freely and without fear,” he said.
International reaction
The results have spurred divided reactions from foreign governments, with the United States, European Union and several Latin American countries calling for a “transparent” process while Venezuela’s allies including China, Russia and Cuba congratulated Maduro.
Kremlin spokesman
dor to Venezuela and Panama saying it was suspending relations with the country over the disputed vote.
Left-wing leaders in Latin America have also urged Caracas to release the full vote tallies.
“For peace in Venezuela, it’s necessary to see all the certificates of the final results and for them to be audited by the world,” Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Murillo said in a video posted
fraud, it can get very tricky,” Segura said.
“It can get violent very, very quickly.”
United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk also raised concerns about “reports of disproportionate use of force by law enforcement officials along with violence by armed individuals supporting the government, known as colectivos”.
“Those responsible for human rights violations must be held to account, Turk said in a statement, adding that Venezuela was at a “critical juncture”.
“I urge the authorities to respect the rights of all Venezuelans to assemble and protest peacefully and ex-
Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that the Venezuelan opposition must accept defeat and warned against external interference.
The election observation department of the Washington-based Organisation of American States (OAS) said it cannot recognise the results. The OAS is set to hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss the election on Wednesday.
The report released by the group stated that the events of election night confirmed a “coordinated strategy, which has been unfolding over the last few months, to undermine the integrity of the electoral process”.
That followed a decision by Peru to recall its ambassa-
on social media on Tuesday afternoon.
Caracas has hit back at the criticism, saying it was withdrawing diplomatic staff from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay. It also suspended flights to and from Panama and the Dominican Republic.
The ongoing political unrest has raised concerns about potential repression of peaceful protests, as well as a new wave of migration from Venezuela.
The country has experienced an economic collapse that pushed millions of people to leave in recent years.
(Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies)
Venezuelan Police remove a burning barricade after anti-Maduro protests in Caracas, July 30 [Reuters]
Demonstrators gather to protest election results that awarded Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, July 30, 2024 [Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters]
Demonstrators hold a banner reading “Let’s go with the truth and without violence” as they gather to protest election results that awarded President Maduro with a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela on Tuesday (Reuters)
Protesters demonstrate Monday in Valencia, Venezuela, against the official election results declaring President Maduro's reelected (Jacinto Oliveros / AP)
DAILY HOROSCOPES
(March 21-April 19)
Evaluate your daily routine and consider how you can expand in a positive direction. It’s time to face any negativity in your life and adjust circumstances to fit your dreams.
You may crave change, but acting prematurely will lead to disappointment. Think before you sign up for or agree to something questionable. Be wary of someone selling a scam.
(May 21-June 20) (April 20-May 20)
(June 21-July 22)
(July 23-Aug. 22)
(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)
(Oct. 24-Nov. 22)
(Nov. 23-Dec. 21)
Act before someone tries to step in and take control. Use your imagination, speed and intellect to deter anyone from taking advantage of you. Concentrate on home and self-improvement.
Tune in to what’s trending. Refuse to let the changes others make throw you off guard or point you in the wrong direction. Follow your heart and do what’s best for you.
Assess your health and emotional well-being. Consider what will boost your morale and encourage you to eliminate what’s no longer working for you. Set boundaries, lower your overhead and ease stress.
Pay attention to detail and avoid mistakes. Use extra energy to help ward off arguments and frustration. Plan your day strategically to get as much done on your own as possible.
Claim your spot and keep things moving forward. Plant your feet firmly behind your beliefs, and refuse to let anyone interfere with your plans.
Keep tabs on how you feel. Don’t let poor behavior be your downfall or lead to loss. A change may tempt you, but unless it’s within your means, do not engage.
Think before you speak or act. Look inward and transform yourself instead of trying to change other people. A change at home may not suit your emotional needs, but it will pay off.
(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Discipline will be necessary to avoid a loss. Practicality is necessary if you wish to avoid stress and uncertainty. Don’t follow a loved one down a path of folly.
(Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
Put more time and effort into fixing up your space. Take up a new hobby or participate in an activity that excites you. Make relationships and personal improvements your priorities.
Take a breather and establish what you want. Discus your next move only if you feel confident of the outcome. Figure out what’s best for you before engaging in a conflict.
Washington, Surya and Rinku bowl India to Super Over win
In one of the most bizarre finishes to a T20 International (T20I), India beat Sri Lanka in the Super Over to complete a 3-0 whitewash in Pallekele.
For the majority of the match, Sri Lanka outplayed India in all three departments, but they had a great fall towards the end. They needed just nine from the last two overs with six wickets in hand.
Rinku Singh, who had never bowled previously in T20Is, sent down the 19th over, conceded just three runs, and picked up two wickets.
That left Sri Lanka needing six from six balls. Mohammed Siraj had an over left, but Suryakumar Yadav decided to bring himself on as the ball was turn ing a mile. He, too, was bowl ing for the first time in T20Is. Moreover, India were behind the over-rate and could have only four fielders outside the 30-yard circle. But Suryakumar gave away just five runs, apart from picking up two wickets, to tie the game.
Washington Sundar started the Super Over with a wide. But a single later, he had Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka caught at the boundary off successive deliveries. With India needing only three from their Super Over, Suryakumar swept Maheesh Theekshana’s first ball towards short fine leg, where Asitha Fernando let the ball through his legs for four.
Earlier, the match started an hour late because of rain. Sri Lanka sent India in after winning the toss and restricted them to 137 for 9 on a fresh pitch that assisted both seamers and spinners. Making their effort even more impressive was the fact that Matheesha Pathirana did not bowl a single over in the innings. The fast bowler hurt his right shoulder while stop-
India another blow in the last over of the powerplay when Suryakumar played a sweep from well outside off straight down the throat of fine leg.
Gill, Parag stage recover With India 30 for 4 inside six overs, Gill and Shivam Dube tried to stabilise the innings. But the duo could add only a run-a-ball 18 as Ramesh Mendis had Dube caught behind, with Kusal Mendis pouching the catch on the second attempt.
overs for combined figures of 6 for 107.
Nissanka, Mendis set the platform
Nissanka and Kusal Mendis started slowly, scoring just four runs in the first two overs.
Nissanka then broke the shackles with three fours off Khaleel Ahmed in the third over. Two overs later, he reverse-pulled Washington through cover-point for yet another boundary. India knew they needed wickets, so Suryakumar gave Siraj a third over in the powerplay. He did produce a chance, inducing the outside edge of Kusal Mendis’ bat, but Samson was wrong-footed behind the stumps and dropped it. To make it sting even more, Kusal Mendis swept Bishnoi for back-to-back fours in the next over. Still, India did not let Sri Lanka run away with the game. They finally got a breakthrough in the ninth over, when Nissanka chipped Bishnoi to wide long-on.
Perera’s effort in vain Sri Lanka were 61 for 1 after 10 overs, the target still 77 runs away. But Kusal Perera took the aggressive route and
hit five fours in the next five overs. That brought down the equation to 30 needed from 30 balls. India had won from the exactly same situation in the T20 World Cup final, but on Tuesday night, they were without Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya, their heroes from that game. While Bishnoi had Kusal Mendis lbw, and Washington dismissed Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka off successive balls, Sri Lanka were still the favourites; they required only 21 from 18 balls. Khaleel then bowled an 11ball over, which included five wides, to tilt the scale further in Sri Lanka’s favour. But the hosts were in for a rude shock.
(ESPNcricinfo)
ping a ball in the seventh over and walked off the field. He returned towards the end of the innings, but did not bowl. Nissanka and Kusal Mendis then gave Sri Lanka a start of 58 in 8.5 overs. Kusal Perera’s 46 off just 34 balls took them closer, but just like the
first two T20Is, their middle order collapsed – no one scored even 5 – to hand India the match.
Theekshana, seamers derail India India made four changes to their XI, making sure everyone in the squad got at least one match. Shubman Gill, who missed the previous game with neck spasms, started cautiously against debutant Chamindu Wickramasinghe. From the other end, Yashasvi Jaiswal tried to take on Theekshana and hit the spinners for two fours in three balls. But Theekshana trapped him lbw on the very next ball as the batter missed a sweep. In the next over, Sanju Samson miscued Wickramasinghe to sweeper cover for his second duck in as many games. Rinku, promoted to number four, lasted just two balls and became Theekshana’s second victim. He tried to go inside out over cover, but the turn and slowness of the wicket did him in; Pathirana took a good catch running to his right from midon. Asitha Fernando dealt
Gill and Riyan Parag took India past 50 in the ninth over. Two overs later, Parag ended a 33-ball boundary drought with a four off Ramesh Mendis. Soon after, he launched Wanindu Hasaranga over deep midwicket for two sixes in three balls as the spinner erred on the fuller side.
India (20 ovs maximum)
BATTING R Yashasvi Jaiswal lbw b Theekshana 10
Shubman Gill st †BKG
Mendis b Hasaranga 39
Parag and Gill added 54 off 40 balls before Hasaranga dismissed both in the same over. Gill was the first to go. He came down the ground only to be beaten by the turn and be stumped. Three balls later, Parag mishit a half-tracker into the hands of deep midwicket. At 105 for 7 in the 16th over, India were in danger of getting bowled out.
Washington’s late cameo
Playing his first match of the series, Washington showed his worth with bat at number eight. He hit two fours and a six in his 18-ball 25 and added 32 off 24 balls for the eighth wicket along with Ravi Bishnoi. Thanks to their partnership, India scored 35 in the last five overs and reached a respectable 137 for 9. In the absence of Pathirana, the Sri Lanka spinners bowled 14
Sanju Samson †c Hasaranga
b Wickramasinghe 0
Rinku Singh c Pathirana b Theekshana 1
Suryakumar Yadav (c) c Hasaranga b Fernando 8
Shivam Dube c †BKG
Mendis b RTM Mendis 13
Riyan Parag c RTM Mendis b Hasaranga 26
Washington Sundar b Theekshana 25
Ravi Bishnoi not out 8 Mohammed Siraj run out (†BKG Mendis) 0
Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis manufactured scoring opportunities against Khaleel Ahmed
Chamindu Wickramasinghe celebrates his maiden wicket
Wanindu Hasaranga exults after a doublewicket over
Digital Technology forms partnership with Kares One Guyana T10
As the countdown to the second Kares One Guyana T10 Tapeball Blast nears the end, Digital Technology has gotten onboard as a key partner in enhancing the quality of the 2024 tournament.
Digital Technology is a professional technology engineering and consulting services firm with a specialization in technology, cloud computing, software development, project management, and managed IT services.
At Digital Technology's Diamond Public Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD) location, Public Relations Consultant Janelle Persaud underscored that the partnership was about bringing awareness of the company’s services using the most evolving tapeball tournament in the region.
The second instalment of the pulsating tournament bowls off on August 3 at the Police Sports Club, Lusignan Community Centre Ground, and Queen’s College Ground, where the best 32 tapeball teams in Guyana will be on show in a straight knock-out contest.
Other match days will be the Round of 16 on August 4 at the Police Sports Club (PSC) and Lusignan Community Centre Ground,
while the quarter-finals return to the Enmore Community Centre Ground on August 11.
Matches on August 3: MS-13 All-Stars v Team Corruption – QC Pitch 1 at 09:30h; Upsetters v GPL Inc – QC Pitch 3 at 09:30h; Montra Jaguars v Falcons XI – PSC at 09:30h; Street Ballerz v Village Rams – Lusignan at 09:30h; EC Express v Mahdia – Lusignan at 11:30h; Soesdyke XI v Airport XI – QC Pitch 1 at 11:30h; Renegades Cricket Club v Tarmac Titans – PSC at
11:30h; Eccles All-Stars v Eastsyde – QC Pitch 3 at 11:30h; Titans All-Stars v Stripling Warriors – PSC at 13:30h; Premier Insurance v Min of Housing – QC Pitch 1 at 13:30h; Moruca Super Giants v Lil Rams – QC Pitch 3 at 13:30h; The Guards v Mahaica Super Strikers – 13:30h at Lusignan; Green Scorpions v Avinash All-Stars – QC Pitch 1 at 15:30h; Brooklyn Youth Strikers v Cotton Tree Die Hard – PSC at 15:30h; Diamond Gunners v TG Titans – Lusignan at 15:30h and The United
Crew v Bartica Bulls – QC Pitch 3 at 15:30h.
The competition promises to be fierce, and a larger prize pool will entice the 32 participating teams. The champions will receive $1.5 million, while the runners-up will receive $500,000.
The losing semi-finalists each get $250,000.
Players will vie for the titles of Most Runs, Most Wickets, and Player of the Final. Each winner will receive a smart TV and a $75,000 cash prize, all compliments of Regal Stationery.
Assuria Insurance is not holding back either, offering a motorbike and $85,000 to the Most Valuable Player.
The Kares One Guyana T10 Blast enjoys the support of Kares Engineering; Banks DIH Limited; Star Rentals; Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport; Montra Restaurant and Lounge; SuperBet; Demerara Mutual; ETS; Metro Office and Computer Supplies; Jacobs’ Jewellery; First Change Builders Inc; KFC Guyana; Building Expo 2024; Giftland OfficeMax; Sankar’s Auto Works; Enet; Avinash Contracting and Scrap Metal Inc; Trophy Stall; ANSA McAL Distribution; Camille’s Academy; Ministry of Human Services and Social Security; RS53 RestoBar and Lounge; General Marine; Samaroo Investments and Coel’s Boutique.
CWI congratulates Sir Clive on being conferred with OCC
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has extended its heartfelt congratulations to Sir Clive Lloyd, the legendary former West Indies Captain, who was conferred with the prestigious Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC) on Sunday at the 47th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community
Access Grassroots Programme resumes with Georgetown sessions
The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Access Grassroots Programme has resumed this month, hosting sessions at West Ruimveldt and Parade Grounds in Georgetown.
Coaches Colin Tasher and Gordon Braithwaite have led engaging training exercises aimed at teaching fundamental football skills to boys and girls aged five to twelve since early July.
GFF Technical Director Bryan Joseph said he was pleased with the enthusiasm shown by both young players and coaches.
“I think we’re ticking the boxes. We are definitely making the game more accessible by reconnecting former stalwarts with youths and creating opportunities for them to learn the fundamentals of football,” he said.
Funded through the GFF Members Financial
Assistance Programme (M-FAP), the programme complements the Federation’s national youth development initiatives.
Nine youth coaches, who are former national players, will travel to different venues, particularly focusing on inner-city communities to ensure broad participation and skill development among future football stars.
Coaches have received es-
sential equipment including balls, bibs, and cones.
Coach Tasher described the sessions positively, stating, “It was
young as seven years old, are “very skilful”.
The youths also received a motivational talk from a representative of the Guyana Police Force, encouraging them to stay focused on football and steer clear of trouble.
Launched in October 2023 in Georgetown, the initiative aims to ensure year-round access to grassroots football. The Federation has set up Academy Training Centres (ATCs) across its nine Member Associations since 2017.
a nice session. We started with sprinting, stretching and ball control.”
He noted that several youngsters, some as
(Caricom), held in Grenada.
CWI President, Dr Kishore Shallow, attended the opening ceremony, where Sir Clive was recognised for his extraordinary contributions to cricket and his enduring legacy as a leader and ambassador of the sport.
“On behalf of Cricket West Indies, I am immensely proud to extend our warmest congratulations to Sir Clive Lloyd on being conferred with the Order of the Caribbean Community,” said Dr Shallow. “This honour is a fitting tribute to a man who has not only exemplified excellence on the cricket field, but has also been an unwavering pillar of inspiration and leadership for the Caribbean and the world. Sir Clive’s contributions to cricket and his dedication to the development of the sport are truly unparalleled.”
Sir Clive, who captained the West Indies team to two consecutive World Cup victories in 1975 and 1979, has been a towering figure in the cricketing world. His achievements have left an indelible mark on the history of the game, and his influence extends far beyond his playing days and the cricket boundary, as he continues to inspire future generations of cricketers.
Sessions will continue every Thursday and Saturday at Parade Ground and West Ruimveldt Ground.
Dr Shallow further remarked, “Sir Clive’s legacy is one that resonates deeply with every West Indian. His leadership, determination, and sportsmanship
have set the standard for what it means to be a true champion. This recognition by CARICOM is a testament to his enduring impact on our region and the sport of cricket. We are honoured to celebrate this moment with him.”
The OCC is the highest honour bestowed by the Caribbean Community, recognizing individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the development and integration of the region. Sir Clive’s receipt of this honour underscores his role as a unifying figure and a beacon of Caribbean pride. (windiescricket.com)
John Ramsingh of FL Sport (left) and Jenifer Persaud of Digital Technology
Sir Clive Lloyd sports the OCC while delivering his acceptance speech on Sunday last
Scenes from the Access Grassroots Programme
Teenage swimming sensation Aleka Persaud again produced another impressive time in the pool, but was unable to advance to the next stage in the Paris Olympics on Tuesday morning.
Persaud took on heat one of the women’s 100 metres freestyle, where she clocked 1:01.29s for fourth place. The time was not good enough for the Guyanese to move on to the semifinal round, bringing her 2024 Olympic journey to an end. The heat was won by Zimbabwe’s Paige van der Westhuizen in 58.19s.
Grenada’s Tilly Collymore and Maxine Egner of Botswana finished second and third in the Heat, clocking 58.84s and 58.98s, respectively.
The Guyanese swimmer spoke with Sportsmax’s Alex Jordan, reflecting on how the race unfolded.
“It was good, it wasn’t the time I wanted, but I had fun, I enjoyed the race and that’s what it’s about. Can’t be mad with that,” Persaud shared.
She went on to highlight the boisterous fans and high energy in the swimming arena, “My heart was beating so fast. It’s definitely different from Tokyo, my first Olympics, this is a different experience. The crowd is all in arms to watch this race.”
“I would like to thank my parents, my mom and dad, my coaches, God. I mean, without them, I wouldn’t have been here and all the
Since coming to Guyana, oil giant ExxonMobil has supplied substantial corporate support for sports countrywide, by providing financial support to organisers so as to support the growth of young athletes.
Over the years, ExxonMobil has made a significant impact in football, kayaking, cricket and basketball, among other sports, intending to foster youth development whether through health-related or psychological benefits.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Guyana Times, ExxonMobil Community Relations Advisor Ryan Hoppie expounded on the aim of the company’s support, which can lead to overall youth development in sports and education.
Hoppie explained, “As you know, ExxonMobil has been supporting youth development through sports; today we are dealing with track and field and we have been dealing with kayaking, football, basketball as well and crick-
et. The aim is basically to continue to invest in youth sports and I know of many young people who are involved in activities whether it is creative arts, whether it is sports; we are mainly focused on sports right now and it is something that brings a lot of teams together. There is the competitive spirit as well, but … also that reduced attrition in schools, so a lot of the young people here of course maintain grades in school, improving their basic life skills of that nature so that they can
become wholesome athletes as they continue to develop in their wholesome sports field.”
Hoppie went on to address the impact the company’s support can have on young athletes in realising their dreams, while expressing gratitude for the opportunity to partner with local organisations.
“A lot of what you see happening through our sponsorship initiatives comes from a lot of the information that we are getting through the communities so we go into
other support systems in Guyana, I’m really, really grateful,” Persaud later stated in gratitude.
This was Persaud’s second Olympic Games after becoming Guyana’s youngest Olympian, at 15 years old, at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
The now 18-year-old is the Guyanese record holder in the 100m freestyle, having
clocked a time of 1:00.67, at last year’s Swimming World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. Attention now turns to Guyana’s track and field athletes, Emanuel Archibald and Aliyah Abrams, who will be in action later this week in the men’s 100m heats and women’s 400m heats respectively.
our communities, we engage with residents and we meet meaningfully and we are asking ‘What can we do to support your community to support your development?’ and sport is one of those things that we are hearing and so we are proud to be supporting. Of course, Private Sector involvement is something that is meaningful and is needed, and we are just happy to play a part and to partner with organisations locally to realise the dreams of young athletes in Guyana and of course, they are not just our future, they are now and so we are here and supporting now,” Hoppie declared.
Thus far, ExxonMobil has sponsored the ExxonMobil Inter-School and InterDistrict kayaking competitions, the ExxonMobil U14 Boys’ and Girls’ football tournament, the ExxonMobil Linden Inter-School Football Tournament, the National Schools’ Basketball Festival and the Guyana Amazon Warriors CPL franchise team.
(Omar McKenzie)
Determination led the way at the Park Hill Playing Field, Colonarie as Guyana rebounded from a loss to Barbados on Sunday last and secured a massive five-wicket victory against Windward Islands in the West Indies Rising Stars Men’s Under-19 50-Overs Championships on Tuesday. Windward Islands won the toss and took full course
with the bat in hand, as opener Stephan Pascal led their batting at tack, scoring a phe nomenal 58 runs and received vital sup port from lower-order batsman Kirsten Murray with 21 runs. The
bowlers enal in the field as they man aged to bowl out Windward Islands for 148 runs in 40.2
overs. Guyanese Captain Mavendra Dindyal took a trio of wickets with Riyad Latiff and Thaddeus Lovell contributing two wickets each and Golcharran Chulai, Myheim Khan, and Krsna Singh, one scalp apiece.
With a target of 149 runs, the Guyanese batters showed off their flair with Jonathan Van Lange taking his team over the
line with a brilliant half-century. He received support from Romeo Deonarine with 23 runs, Dindyal with 22 runs, and Rampertab Ramnauth with 21 runs. Murray, Earsinho Fontaine, and Watson Seaton were the pick of the bowling attack for Windward Islands as they took one wicket each.
Guyana got back to winning ways on Tuesday after a loss to Barbados
Captain Mavendra Dindyal
Jonathan Van Lange
Aleka Persaud speaks with Sportsmax following her race
Champions of the U14 Boys ExxonMobil Football Tournament, Chase’s Academic Foundation
ExxonMobil Community Relations Advisor Ryan Hoppie
