admin

PNCR promises to break vicious cycle of poverty among Amerindians Sep 02, 2024 News Kaieteur News – The People’s National Congress (PNCR) has promised to break what it described as the “vicious cycle of poverty” among Amerindians. The party made the comments in a statement to mark Amerindian Heritage Month. “We join with all other Guyanese to commence commemorating in the entire month of September Amerindian Heritage Month 2024.” The PNC/R said in terms of the development of Indigenous Guyanese, much has been achieved, but this is dwarfed by what remains to be done. “If, therefore, we were to suggest a theme for this Heritage Month, it would be “Breaking the vicious cycles that impede the development of Indigenous communities and families.” These cycles, the PNC/R said relate to, for instance, persistent poverty, poor access to social services, food insecurity, women disempowerment, male migration from families, and scarce local economic opportunities. “As such, Indigenous Guyanese continue to lag the general population on most quality-of-life indicators, such as on nutrition intake and maternal and infant mortality.” The party said government’s efforts and expenditures in the past have not fulfilled the needs and expectations of the Indigenous People mainly because such efforts have been disjointed, insufficient, misdirected, and superficial. “So is the current approach under the PPP government. PNCR/APNU commits to working with the Indigenous people and all other stakeholders in breaking these vicious cycles. As the next government, we will implement a critical or sufficient mass of coordinated programmes aimed at overpowering the key hindrances to the development of Indigenous people, families, and communities.” The PNCR again promises to adopt a Whole-of-Government approach, “meaning all government agencies will be involved in this comprehensive endeavour. We will work to develop shared understandings of the problems and solutions. We will promote community self-empowerment and self-determination. We will measure results and success not by budgetary allocation or monies spent, but by quality-of-life indicators. Included in those measures will be what the people themselves say about their lives and livelihoods.”  The PNCR said breaking these vicious cycles requires long sustained work. “PNCR/APNU is confident that together we can do it. We salute all Indigenous Guyanese on Amerindian Heritage Month.” Related Similar Articles

‘Balance rapid development with measures to ease hardships of ordinary citizens’ Sep 02, 2024 News – T&T ambassador urges Guyana Kaieteur News – The High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) to Guyana Conrad Enill has highlighted the critical need for Guyana to balance its rapid economic development with measures to mitigate the cost-of-living impact on its citizens. Conrad Enill, the High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) to Guyana In a discussion on the Energy Perspectives podcast aired on Sunday, Ambassador Enill shared perspectives from T&T’s experience as a longstanding oil producer. Oil was discovered offshore Guyana in 2015 and by December 2019 the country became an oil producing nation. Oil is currently being produced from the Stabroek Block which is estimated to hold 11.6 billion barrels of oil. The operator of the block ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) is producing 645,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) from three Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, the Liza Destiny, Unity and Prosperity. The company already has plans for three other vessels with a target of 1.2 million bdp by 2027. During the episode, Ambassador Enill highlighted that while Guyana’s oil sector growth presents significant opportunities, it also poses challenges. “So, there are two issues for consideration. The first is the definition of development, and the second one is the rate of growth of your energy sector and the revenues that will be derived from it. Of course, these are two separate things,” he said. The Ambassador explained that while energy sector revenue can potentially enhance a country’s circumstances, it requires correct policy prescriptions to ensure that benefits are equitably shared. He noted that the two crucial criteria are whether the companies involved are globally competitive and if citizens are receiving a fair return on investment. “Development in Guyana has two components to it. There is the infrastructure, and then there are the people,” the Ambassador noted. He pointed out that the benefits of development are not always immediately felt by the population, despite visible infrastructure improvements. Ambassador Enill said, “The challenge you have is that the people, in some instances, do not feel the benefits as quickly as you see other things happening…Those are the two conflicting areas that policymakers try to get right. In some instances, they do, and in others, they don’t.” “For example, you see a lot of infrastructure, changes to roads, schools, and so on. But you may not see directly an increase in people’s standard of living simply because what is required in the system, the country has not yet developed. So, there is significant potential for growth. There are significant opportunities if people take advantage of them. But it is only in those circumstances that you would see the development of the people, as opposed to just the development of the country,” he added. Drawing from Trinidad and Tobago’s own development journey, Ambassador Enill highlighted a key lesson, that the rate of development can adversely affect human development if not managed carefully. “In Trinidad, we got it wrong sometimes because, in pursuit of the country’s development, the rate of development sometimes impacts negatively on human development. In other words, as the country tries to move forward with its infrastructure program, goods and services are not keeping pace with the demand. Therefore, prices become an issue, which means the cost of living increases dramatically,” he said. Ambassador Enill warned that as infrastructure development accelerates, it can lead to increased demand for goods and services, driving up prices and exacerbating the cost of living.  “The problem with that is if you do not have a supply-side strategy to increase supplies, people on a fixed income will find the cost of living increasing, impacting them negatively,” the Ambassador noted. As such, he urged Guyana to learn from these experiences and manage the pace of development to ensure that the benefits are distributed more equitably among its citizens. It was recently reported that within the first six months of 2024, oil production increased Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), resulting in a 49.7% growth. “So, on one hand, you have the country doing well, but you have a situation where citizens are not yet at the stage where they can participate in all that is happening because the rate of change is too great. That’s one of the challenges Guyana has to manage,” Enill concluded. Related Similar Articles

President’s Cup entries open on September 11 Sep 02, 2024 Sports President’s Cup entries will open on September 11. Kaieteur Sports – Top horses are expected to enter in the 2024 President’s Cup which is set for Sunday, September 22 at Rising Sun Turf Club. Entries for the nine-race programme will open on September 11 and close on September 17. For some, this race will serve as rematch to the Guyana Cup, as the likes of Stolen Money, John Bull, Easy Time, Oy Vey among others, will be out to mark the Guyana Cup champion, Olympic Kremlin. Guyana champion horse for 2023, Spankhurst could also return to the fold. Owner of Slingerz Racing Stables, Javid Ali confirmed that defending President’s Cup champion, John Bull will be out to defend his title, while stablemate and champion horse Olympic Kremlin will be out to dominate once more. Most of these horses began preparation for this year’s President’s Cup already, as they seek to get a taste of that race-day purse, which will the total G$ 15 million will be divided among nine races. The feature race of the President’s Cup will have a total purse of close to G$6,000,000 (six million) dollars and the race will be run at approximately eight furlongs. That race will be open to all horses, three years old and over. Entry forms for the President’s Cup will be at the Port Mourant Racecourse, the Rising Sun Turf Club, the Bush Lot United Turf Club & 106 Smyth Street, Werk-En-Rust, Georgetown. Other races on the provisional programme include the three-year-old Guyana and West Indian-bred, Sprint ‘E’ Class for horses three years old and over, two-year-old maiden, H1 And Lower Open to ‘G’ Class Non-Earners on Guyana Cup. Also open to ‘G’ class Non winners in Guyana, H3 and Lower, ‘J’ Class Open to H3 Non earner in last two starts, K Class/J3 Non-Earner Last Start and the L Class/J Class and K Class and Non-Earner Last Start. Related Similar Articles

Poonai Pharmacy renews RHTYSC U11 and U13 cricket sponsorship for successive year Sep 02, 2024 Sports Kaieteur Sports – Poonai Pharmacy is very pleased to be associated with the hard work, dedication and success of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, the business entity has informed. The young cricketers of this club have represented the Poonai Pharmacy brand with passion and pride a release noted. They have not only produced national players and won championships but has undertaken numerous programmes with the aim of making positive a difference in the lives of youths and the less fortunate, informed Poonai Bhigroog, CEO of Poonai Pharmacy as the company on Tuesday last renewed their cricket sponsorship of the RHTYSC under11 and under13 teams for the 4th consecutive year. Mr. Ponnai Bhigroog hands over the sponsorship to the captain Leon Reddy in presence of follow players and manager Robby Kissoonlal. The popular medical pharmacy has been sponsoring the under 13 team since 2021 and came on board with the under11 team in 2023. Club secretary Hilbert Foster stated that the under13 team has won two Berbice championships and has reached the finals all four times that the BCB has hosted under13 tournaments. In the last BCB Romario Shepherd under13 tournament, they defeated Rose Hall Canje by 5 wickets at Canje ground. Foster stated that the Poonai pharmacy serves as the nursery for the club’s cricket structure as it provides players for the Rose Hall Town Farfan and Mendes under15, Bakewell under 17,  Pepsi under19 and Metro female teams. Cricket manager and organizing secretary, Robby Kissoonlal, expressed gratitude to the management and staff of Poonai pharmacy for their continued support over the years and committed the teams to upholding their high standards over the next 12 months. The team would be led by national player Leon Reddy who was last week named the Berbice under13 captain. Kissoonlal disclosed that the three members were selected in the Berbice team, Reedy, Jayden Ganpat and Dinesh Singh. The team has also produced numerous Berbice and Guyana players including Reedy, Rafael Mckenzie, Tameshwar Deonandan, Dev Seepersaud, Balraj Narain, West Indies Under19 female player Trisha Hardat was also a product of the under thirteen team. Kissoonlal also noted that the cricket teams during the last 12 months had successfully completed a total of 54 personal development programmes under a wide range of subheadings including coaching, education, charity, say no say yes, award and committee development. Other programmes undertaken by the team are cricket Academy, grade 6 summer camp, tribute to fireman,, tribute to law enforcement officers, occasional summer camp, Mother’s Day food hamper, tribute to fathers, clean up campaign, youth information booklet, tribute to postal workers and feeding the poor. Kissoonlal, who has been the cricket manager for over 30 years also hailed the contribution of his deputies Keith Hicks, Tyrone Pattaya along with cricket coaches Winston Smith, Ryan Kissoonlal, Tremaine Smart and Ryan Algu for their hard work in molding the team into a powerful elite squad. Poonai, a former president of the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce, urged the players to keep up your high standards and to remain focus, discipline and dedicated. He committed his business to continue supporting the team on and off the cricket field. The RHTYSC since its formation in September 1990 has won 124 different cricket tournaments at all levels and produced 125 players for Berbice or Guyana. 16 of the players have gone on to play for either the West Indies or the United States of America. They include Assad Fudadin, Kevin Sinclair, Royston Crandon, Esan Crandon, Dominic Ricky, Ashkay Homraj, Erva Giddings, Shemaine Campbell, Sheneta Grimmond, Trisha Hardat, Danellie Manns, Shabika Gajnabi and Kevlon Anderson. The club has also won the Guyana Cricket Board Club of the year award five times and remained the only Youth Sports Club to receive a national award. Related Similar Articles

Igloo-GCC Hockey Festival stares exciting conclusion Sep 02, 2024 Sports Sigmas claim Boys’ U17 title, as goals rain on Day Two… Kaieteur Sports – After eleven thrilling matches on the opening day, the Igloo Ice Cream Hockey Festival continued to sizzle on Saturday at the GCC Hockey Turf with a day full of electrifying action, marking the penultimate day of the 2024 Festival. With an impressive lineup of 20 matches, the tournament is set to crown its champions. Solana Crum-Ewing on the move! Saturday’s action featured a series of exciting encounters across the Under-14, U17, and U21 divisions, as well as three high-octane clashes in the senior Men’s and Women’s categories. In the Under-14 division, GCC Thunderbolt narrowly lost to SHC Schorchers 3-2, with Clay Bob scoring all three goals for the Schorchers. YMCA OFHC Gladiators then dominated GCC Thunderbolts 5-0 in their first U14 Mixed Group A match, thanks to a superb hat-trick by Malachi Agard. However, the Gladiators later fell 4-0 to SHC Schorchers, with Bob adding two more goals to his tally. In the U14 Mixed Group B matches, SHC Slayers faced HHC School Tek We, with Tek We emerging victorious with a 2-1 scoreline. HHC School Tek We later suffered a 2-1 defeat against YMCA OFHC Bombers, who themselves were narrowly beaten 2-1 by the Slayers, with Kaiya Scoot and Carenza Copeland making the difference. The U14 Mixed semifinals were a highlight, with YMCA OFHC Gladiators securing a dramatic 3-2 victory over SHC Slayer after a penalty shootout, advancing to the finals. Meanwhile in the Girls U17 division, GCC Her-Ricanes defeated YMCA Old Fort Stars 3-0. In an epic final, SHC Sigmas were crowned U17 Boys champions after edging out SHC Legends 3-2 on penalties. Later on, the Boys U21 division saw intense competition as SHC Conquerors defeated GCC Pitbulls 3-2, with Sakeem Fausette shining with a hat-trick, while in another U21 match, YMCA OFHC Young Boys overcame SHC S’Team 3-1. The senior segment captivated spectators, with Team Rebels claiming a 7-4 victory over Saints after trailing 2-3 at halftime. Carloyn Deane’s four goals led Rebels to their second win in the Women’s division before Saints rebounded to beat Team Rebels 2-1 in a hard-fought encounter later in the day. Over in the Men’s division, Saints and YMCA OFHC Top Guns both secured impressive victories; Top Guns edged out HHC Rennants 6-5 in a thrilling finish, while Saints defeated GCC Vintage 3-0. The Igloo Hockey Festival concluded yesterday at the same venue, where champions across all divisions were crowned. Detailed coverage of the final day’s action will be featured in an upcoming edition. The tournament is sponsored by the Igloo Ice Cream and organized by the GCC Hockey Club. Related Similar Articles

113.5M barrels of oil produced in first half of 2024- Mid-Year Report   Sep 02, 2024 News Guyana’s third FPSO, Prosperity Kaieteur  News – Guyana’s oil and gas sector is estimated to have grown by 67.1% in the first half of 2024, with total production reaching 113.5 million barrels during the period. This is according to the Mid-Year Report, recently published by the government of Guyana. The document states that some 68.7 million barrels were recorded during the same period last year. Guyana currently has three Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels in operation. The third FPSO- Prosperity- commenced production in November 2023. According to the report, “Daily production in the Stabroek Block averaged 624,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of this year, compared with approximately 380,000 bpd in the first half of last year.” It was noted that the “higher-than projected production rates on the Prosperity FPSO” has resulted in a new production target this year of approximately 228 million barrels of crude oil for 2024. As such, the industry is now expected to grow by 56.4% this year, up from 44.7% projected at the time of preparing Budget 2024. During the period under review, government reported that all three of the FPSOs underwent optimization and topsides debottlenecking, a process that allows for increased oil production. To this end, production at the Liza Destiny, Liza Unity and Prosperity vessels were recorded at an average of 157,000 bpd, 245,000 bpd, and 222,000 bpd, respectively, while reaching the highest collective rate of 644,000 bpd in June 2024. Kaieteur News reported on Sunday that the total earnings from the export of crude oil amounted to US$9.4B in the first six months of 2024, a US$4B increase compared with the same period last year. It should be noted that 75% of that amount was deducted by the Stabroek Block partners to recover their investments. To this end, the report states that US$7.5B in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) outflows was recorded, reflecting cost recovery from the oil and gas sector. In addition to revenue deducted for cost, Exxon also received 50% of the profits from the Stabroek Block, in accordance with the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA). As such, Exxon and partners bagged at least US$8.5B from Guyana’s oil and gas operations in only six months. This is a massive increase in cost recovery compared with the same period last year. The Bank of Guyana (BoG) in its 2023 Half Year Report indicated that US$4B in revenue was deducted from Guyana’s oil during the first six months of the year. Meanwhile, Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund (NRF) received a US$1.2B top-up during the first half of 2024. Related Similar Articles

Bakewell renews sponsorship for Naeen Nasir memorial one day tournament Sep 02, 2024 Sports Kaieteur Sports – Four teams on Sunday the 29th of September would play for the top prize of $100,000 at the Area H ground as the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club host the 11th edition of the annual Naeen Nasir memorial 10/10 cricket tournament. Bakewell manager Rajin Ganga hands over sponsorship to RHTYSC secretary Hilbert Foster. Bakewell, the company which Mr. Nasir founded several decades ago, has renewed their sponsorship for the one day tournament on Tuesday last when general manager Rajin Ganga handed over a cheque to the club secretary Hilbert Foster at the compays’s Triumph East Coast Demerara Head office. Foster at the simple presentation ceremony, stated, that Bakewell became an official sponsor of the RHTYSC in 2000 and is the second longest official sponsor after Farfan and Mendes limited. The company is the sponsor of the RHTYSC Bakewell under17 and 2nd division teams. The two teams under the Bakewell sponsorship has won over 15 major championships while producing players for Berbice, Guyana, the United States of America and the West Indies. The RHTYSC teams has produced close to 80 of the clubs 125 players who have played for Berbice or Guyana, among the players are Assad Fudadin, Royston Crandon, Kevin Sinclair, Esan Crandon, Kevlon Anderson, Junior Sinclair, Jonathan Rampersaud, Shemaine Campbell, Keith Simpson, Mahendra Gopilal, Jeremy Sandia, Romesh Bharat and Silas Tyndall. The company also Co sponsors several RRHTYSC activities such as the popular Christmas village, charity programme, annual magazine, summer camp, cricket Academy and awards programme. Foster proudly stated that the Bakewell was one of the main reasons why the RHTYSC is widely considered Guyana’s most dynamic Youth and Sports organization. The Naeem Nasir memorial cricket tournament would be contested by Rose Hall Town Bakewell, Wiruni, Police and the Rose Hall Town Tigers. The two preliminary rung would be played 10 overs per side while the final would be played over 15 overs. The first ball would be bowled at 9:30AM sharp and general manager Rajin Ganga would share out prizes at the presentation ceremony. The winner, runner up and man of the match in the final would each receive cash prizes Trophies. Mr. Nasir died on the 9th of October 2012 at the Balwant Singh hospital at the age of 52 after a long battle against illness. He founded the popular bakery in 1988 and is well known for his support of sports especially cricket and lawn tennis. Related Assad Fudadin, Esan Crandon, Jeremy Sandia, Jonathan Rampersaud, Junior Sinclair, Keith Simpson, Kevin Sinclair, Kevlon Anderson, Mahendra Gopilal, Romesh Bharat and Silas Tyndal, Royston Crandon, Shemaine Campbell Similar Articles