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Linden Group, GNA plan Netball Clinic to help resuscitate sport Aug 23, 2024 Sports Kaieteur Sports – A decision was taken after a meeting with President of the Guyana Netball Association (GNA) Ailene Bowman and a committee that has an interest in the revival of the sport. GNA President, Ailene Bowman It was staged Friday last at the Regional Democratic Council of Region 10’s Boardroom and that outcome has led to a one-week clinic for boys and girls between ages 8 to 17 at the Mackenzie High School Hard Court. The idea was floated to have a discussion with the GNA head by Kenesha Dey-Venture, who was recently appointed Region Ten Youth Officer, and this prompted a visit to Linden by Bowman, an executive member of the GNA and former national player Donnette Boston. They met with former Linden netball player Denise Belgrave, Odessa Adams, Businesswoman Dianta Phillips, Franklyn Kingston and veteran sports journalist, Joseph Chapman. The deliberations surrounded the dormancy of the sport in the town and at the national level, which was for about 15 years, according to the GNA Head. Those present felt that an effort should be made as early as possible and it was agreed to have it in the coming week. Parents and guardians are advised to make contact with the following persons to register or to request more information on the clinic: Denise Belgrave – 630-5661, Dianta Phillips – 500-1205, Abdulla Hamid or Odessa Adams. The clinic is targeting 30 players and the sessions for the children will be next Monday through to Friday from 9:00hrs – 11:00hrs at the Mackenzie High School Hard Court in Retrieve. Related Similar Articles

Nine races on President’s Cup Provisional Program Aug 23, 2024 Sports Nine races on the provisional programs for the 2024 President’s Cup Kaieteur Sports – The excitement continues to build towards the One Guyana President’s Cup which is set for Sunday September 22, as organizers announced nine races on the provisional program. This event is organized by the Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee and will be held at the Rising Sun Turf Club. More than G$15 million dollars in cash and prizes will be up for grabs on race day. The feature race will have a total purse of close to six million dollars and the race will run at approximately eight furlongs. That race will be open to all horses three-year-old and over. The winner of the President’s Cup will be awarded three million. All entries will only be accepted by entry forms.  As owners enter, that will be the gate draw. Horses will not be able to race without entry form. Entry Forms for the President’s Cup will be at Port Mourant Racecourse, Rising Sun Turf Club, Bush Lot United Turf Club & 106 Smyth St Werk-En-Rust, Georgetown. Other races on the provisional program includes the three-year-old Guyana and West Indian Bred, Sprint E Class for horses three-year-old and over, two-year-old maiden, H1 And Lower Open to G Class Non Earners on Guyana Cup, also open to G Lass 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. Entries for this year’s President’s Cup will be open on September 11 and close on September 17. No late entries will be accepted. Slingerz Racing Stables, who are the reigning Guyana Cup champion with the newly imported Olympic Kremlin, will be out to defend their title. John Bull, another horse of the Slingerz Racing Stables, is the defending champion of the President’s Cup. All the top horses are fresh from intense action at the Guyana Cup, and those who were unable to acclimatize for Guyana Cup, have certainly acclimatized for Sunday September 22 President’s Cup. Related Similar Articles

Suenarine donates uniforms to Cotton Tree Cricket Club Aug 23, 2024 Sports Some of the young cricketers at Cotton Tree Cricket Club showcasing the new uniforms donated by Suenarine and family Kaieteur Sports – Cotton Tree Cricket Club were beneficiaries of cricket uniforms from rice farmer Rusty Suenarine and his family. A total of 35 set of colored uniforms were presented during this week at the club. The uniforms included shirt and trousers and hats to suit. The West Berbice-based cricket club made great strides in recent youth tournaments and has produced cricketers for Berbice and Guyana youth teams. Suenarine, who hails from Cotton Tree, has recognized the talent from the club and found it fitting to give back to a place that is close to his heart. Additionally, Suenarine has took it upon himself to cover the expenses of a qualified coach to provide knowledge with training sessions to the Cotton Tree youths. Winston Smith of the Berbice Cricket Board is the coach that will perform this duty at Cotton Tree. Right-arm fast bowling sensation Arif Khan is the most recognized youth player that club produced in recent years. He represented Berbice and Guyana at youth levels, and he is tipped to play for the National team in the near future. Some of the players with inter-county experience are Rashad Gaffur, Arif Bacchus and Shoaib Gaffoor. In addition to the solid youth foundation at Cotton Tree, the club has dominated senior inter-club cricket in the West Berbice area in recent times. Popularly known as the Cotton Tree Die Hard Club, they were victors at the 2024 AJM Mash It Up T20 tournament which had a sold-out crowd at Bush Lot, West Berbice. Related Similar Articles

Guyana: the great career builder for oilmen Aug 23, 2024 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column Kaieteur News – Want to bet big on oil?  Guyana was the place to be.  Wishing for a rocket fuel boost to career in oil?  Guyana was the big elephant that had to be stalked, with the dice rolled.  It was what worked out splendidly for Tim Chisholm of Hess Corp and Pablo Eisner of CNOOC.  As pathfinders, trailblazers go, Chisholm and Eisner are now hailed among the kings of the oil patch.  Chisolm (Chisum) itself is a name straight out of Texas legend about trail drovers and cattle drives, and cattle wars. Both the Chisolm of today and Pablo (the crude oil one) have etched their names in oil lore, and it is all because of Guyana. Guyana’s Stabroek Block, now a legend in its own time.  Whoever said fairytales are about nothing that resembles reality.  The only problem with Guyana’s oil fairytale is that Guyanese have now been forced to live with crass and cruel stepmothers (stepfathers and stepbrothers not excluded). GHK Lall Chisolm aimed for what Americans call the big score and made a big career for himself when he persisted with the Stabroek Block now a proven bonanza of stupendous proportions, and the financial fun is only at the start of Round 1.  Guyana the Big Score, Guyana the big career builder; just don’t tell that to ordinary Guyanese between a rock (is the oil for real?) and a hard place (if it is, then what about a real share?).  Many have been the heads rolled in the oil world, sometimes for a mark missed by a whisker.  Years of patient exploration and study go down the drain.  The rare, good ones who are laboring in the lonely, often barren, oilfields have that instinct that turns out to be a killer.  It is called gut.  Neither science nor academic nor textbook, just a sense of smell that detects oil, when others see sand and seabed, have already thrown in the towel and headed off to better pastures. Karl Twitchell was one who toiled for eternities in the empty spaces of the Middle East until he struck gold.  There was Michael Halbouty who was called the “greatest wildcatter of all time.”  He liked to boast of “14 straight discoveries followed by 36 straight dry holes.’  A man who lost two fabulous fortunes, then made a third.  It takes a rare kind of self-believer, risk taker and committed adventurer to live like that, always dangerously poised on a knife’s edge and loving it.  And, of course, the man who came before them all.  It was Col. Edwin Drake who struck pay dirt in Titusville, PA in 1865. They didn’t call him Crazy Drake for nothing, and that army rank was how he rewarded himself.  In summary, the late, great oilmen were a combination of geologists, eccentrics, mystics, with great, big-eyed oil optics.  Like any really good salesman, they believed in themselves more, less in their product.  Enter Chisholm, Tim Chisholm, not John Chisum.  If I may be tolerated the liberty, he became Guyana’s John Wayne.  Does he have a Guyana oil war story to tell or what?  There is the gusher that is the now fabled Stabroek Block.  Take it from me, Guyana’s Stabroek Block is the gift that keeps on giving, and Guyanese don’t know the half of it.  Legendary careers are erected on the back of such persistence, such perspicacity that senses what all other men could not see, and such dogged prowess that stays the course, then comes up with the giant motherlode.  Is the Stabroek Block, one vast oil basin, one unending oil bonanza or what?  But for whom, I have the insensitivity, incivility, to inquire. Tim Chisolm and Pablo Eisner now stand as men of awesome proportions among oilmen.  Their trajectory is known, their course set.  What about Guyana and Guyanese, where that stuff of fables, the Stabroek oil kingdom reigns in unequalled, unchallengeable, and unbelievable underwater splendor?  Pardon me for envisioning an international career for Guyana as a country that commands respect, because it is more than rich.  Because it is wise.  But before that, brawny, courageous, and resourceful enough at leadership heights to stand, fight.  Should I not be excused for harbouring ideas that every Guyanese man, woman, and child can look forward to a career of comfort and contentment?  Chisolm and Eisner found the oil, and they are the toast of their times.  Guyana and Guyanese own this same oil, but both have been toasted black and blue, so battered and brutalized they have been for their own inheritance.  Chisolm and Eisner, Routledge and Woods and the Chinese and Dutch and Japanese, have all collected high recognition and handsome rewards from Guyana’s Stabroek Block.  Why not the same for Guyanese from the last and unchanging will and testament of their oil bequest?  The foreign capital investors and local political operators (I call most of them deceivers and exploitative predators) grab their share of Guyana’s Stabroek patrimony.  What about the prosperity, that kind now and later destiny, that is due every single Guyanese? The richest people in the world cannot be so crippled by something as ordinary as cost-of-living that they flee this country.  What kind of career for the richest global citizens: vacuuming floors, babysitting the children, and giving care to the elderly and sickly of foreigners?  The same ones who are here and in the thick of rich oil careers.  I am delighted for Chisolm and Eisner.  They have earned their places.  I would be more delighted when Ali and Jagdeo work their butts off, fight an honest fight, for Guyanese to get their rich, rightful share and take their rightful place among the first citizens of the world. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.) Related Similar Articles

Monetising Guyana’s gas Aug 23, 2024 Editorial Kaieteur News – One of these days, the Guyana Government may get something right with its management of the oil and gas sector.  The oil is supposed to last decades, so there is room for continuing error, getting off the ground, and probably repeating the same mistakes.  The list is long and numbing of how the PPP/C Government ties itself into knots, leaves itself no wiggle room, and keep going merrily along the same losing way.  The selection of Fulcrum LNG as this country’s partner to help monetize the gas qualifies as one such development.  It is remarkable that of 17 bidders, the selection process zeroed in with an unerring eye on Fulcrum LNG and declared it the winner.  The CEO of Fulcrum is Jesus Bronchalo and he spent 19 years and a month in a senior capacity with ExxonMobil.  The dust had not even settled under his feet when he left ExxonMobil and there is Mr. Bronchalo back in the local action. Strange things do happen in Guyana, and the arrival of oil has introduced a bewildering array of them on the heads of Guyanese.  The timeline walked by Mr. Bronchalo is tight: he spent slightly over 19 years with ExxonMobil and was hardly gone a year when the call of Guyana’s gas was too much to resist.  It may be more accurate to state that it is too much to explain.  Considering our choppy and less-than-inspiring relationship with ExxonMobil, its predatory one-sided nature, the last thing any government, any decision maker, in Guyana should be engaged in is another engagement with one of the company’s former people.  He spent too long at ExxonMobil, and he has been gone too briefly from it, to bring any comfort in this space.  Mr. Bronchalo was simply too close to the company, and that should have been the end of the story.  Given the treatment meted out by ExxonMobil time and again to the people of this country, there must be some drawing of the line. To give the newly minted Fulcrum LNG CEO his due, he may know the gas business inside out, but to whose advantage. In the normal workings of business and its hierarchy for such an advantage, there are three candidates.  With a bow to human calculations, Mr. Bronchalo is the first in line to reap a handsome return for his help in monetizing Guyana’s gas. It follows that ExxonMobil is next on the advantage carousel, since the company has made it its duty to be in everything that has something to do with Guyana’s high quality, cheap oil.  And thanks to a PPP/C Government and leadership that is at its call and under its full control.  As a consolation prize, Guyana could claim its place on the third rung of whatever advantage there may be left. ExxonMobil has burned Guyanese repeatedly, using one blowtorch after another.  It is perplexing that the Government of Guyana would give a former company employee of significant rank, a contract to monetize this country’s gas assets.  There is no choice but to face this hard fact:  ExxonMobil has mushroomed into a necessary, unavoidable evil in its presence here.  No one, not a subgroup, not a onetime worker for this American oil giant, should be allowed to spend one minute more than longer around our wealth.  The quicker that the majority of Guyanese come to appreciate this, the wiser they will be in identifying who are their allies to be trusted, as opposed to who are their adversaries to be watched like a snake. Trying to relay that to the oil and gas decision makers in the PPP/C Government is tantamount to delivering that to a convention of the unhearing, unseeing, and uncaring.  It is intriguing, gives rise to all manner of ideas, that of 17 bidders (including CNOOC, a member of the ExxonMobil-led Guyana consortium) Fulcrum LNG came out on top.  These are among the mystifying developments that swirl around the incredibly rich oil and gas sector in Guyana.  It is so rich that it attracts an abundance of curious human and company specimens from all over.  One of these days, Guyana will gain some wisdom and do things right, with no questions dangling, no misgivings floating. Related Similar Articles

APA fact-checks Pres. Ali after NTC Conference speech Aug 23, 2024 Letters Dear Editor, The Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) keenly listened to His Excellency President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s presentation at the opening of the National Toshaos Council’s Conference on Monday at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre. We are now compelled to respond to a series of inaccuracies presented by the President during his nearly two-hour, politically charged speech. President Ali’s portrayal of the history of Indigenous Peoples’ development in Guyana was incomplete and misleading, omitting several critical facts. In his move to institute the NT Cast, he “custodians of Indigenous Peoples’ hopes and dreams and a protector of their rights,” President Ali attributed the annual gathering of Toshaos as a hallmark achievement accomplished by his Political Party. It is important to remind President Ali that his government or political party did not initiate the first National Toshaos Conference. In fact, it was the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) that supported the inaugural conference in 2003. The 2003 meeting was held in the Region Two community of Mainstay/Whayaka under the theme ‘Working Together for a Better Future’ and can be confirmed by members of the President’s political party –who were also leading members of the APA at the time. The first NTC meeting was also attended by then Minister of Amerindian Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues, and a simple fact check by the President would have brought this to his attention. The 2003 conference, supported by the APA, was a landmark event that brought Indigenous leaders together to discuss and address issues affecting their communities. The APA played a pivotal role in supporting the establishment of such a platform for Indigenous voices, a fact that should not be overlooked, as was done by the President in his attempt to rewrite the history of Indigenous Peoples’ development in Guyana. At its inception, the National Toshaos Conference was intended to be a vital mechanism for Indigenous self-governance, advocacy and the protection of their rights and interests in Guyana. It was critical at that point and remains critical that Indigenous voices form part of the national conversation and decision-making processes. To date, we are seeing the continued fight of our Indigenous Peoples to have their voices heard and recognized in the decision-making process. When our leaders met in 2003, they had hoped that the National Toshaos Conference would be an annual gatheringwhereToshaosandotherIndigenousrepresentativescouldcometogether, discuss and address the issues facing their communities. The Conference was supposed to empower leaders to advocate for their people’s rights, development, and well-being. Our leaders had hoped that the Conference would provide a forum for dialogue between the Indigenous leadership and the government. The National Toshaos Conference was conceptualized to also highlight the importance of preserving and promoting Indigenous cultures, languages, and traditions. Our leaders wanted the Conference to serve as a space for leaders to advocate for protecting our cultural heritage and resist any policies or actions that might threaten it. One purpose of the NTC Conference was to address issues related to land ownership, mining, logging, and other activities that impact ancestral lands. Over the years, we have consistently seen increased government dominance in the NTC Conference agenda. Additionally, we have heard Toshaos complaining about not having access to a draft agenda prior to the conference. These complaints come from Toshaos, who sat on the Executive of the previous NTC, and those who are also on the current Executive. The APA saw this on Monday when Toshaos were given the agenda minutes before the afternoon session commenced and asked to adopt an agenda that only a few may have had access to and that they played no part in creating. It is clear that the NTC needs to put in place mandates and procedures free from political and other influences. These mandates and procedures should set out how the Conference should be structured and adopted by the entire NTC membership after careful review. Over the last three days, we have seen the government lambast Toshaos for having differing opinions or questioning them. It now begs the question of whose conference is this? Another attack on traditional Indigenous leadership, what we saw was the attack on District Councils–whether formalized or not. The attack came from both President Ali and Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai. The APA wishes to inform the President and Minister that Indigenous Peoples have traditionally gathered as Districts to manage and protect their territories. Therefore, Minister Sukhai’s deeming the meeting of Indigenous Leaders in their territories as “operating under the banner of District Councils” is a slap in the face of our ancestors’ traditions and customs. The Amerindian Act recognises that Indigenous Peoples gather as Districts, and therefore, the inclusion of the gazetting of District Councils is merely a formality. Our peoples deserve to rightfully meet to discuss issues as our ancestors did without being deemed as illegal or masquerading by the government. Minister Sukhai should have informed the NTC and President Ali that her Ministry has received applications from the Upper Mazaruni and North Pakaraimas to formally recognise their District Councils as provided for in Section 35 of the Amerindian Act. Those applications are lingering in the Ministry somewhere without any priority being attached to them. We remind the Minister that the Amerindian Act outlines her functions for the recognition of District Councils and the criteria to be met for their establishment. We must add that political loyalty is not one of those conditions, therefore, why the reluctance? The APA also reminds President Ali that Indigenous Peoples were the beneficiaries of scholarships before 1992 and finds it disingenuous that he sought to erase all the strides made by Indigenous Peoples before the PPP/C took office in 1992. We advise the President to ensure that his addresses are not used to deliberately mislead and revise our country and peoples’ history in political campaigning. Regards, Amerindian Peoples Association Related Similar Articles

Trade Union issues that bother me Aug 23, 2024 Letters Dear Editor, I’ve stayed silent on two things that bother me regarding Trade Unions in Guyana. I refrain from taking a side on the current negotiations between the Government and the Guyana Teachers’ Union, since I feel that the process should be allowed to proceed. However, I’m puzzled at public statements made that the General Secretary is, in contravention of the Union’s Rules, to be in that position, while being a Member of Parliament. If this is in fact a correct interpretation, it is inconceivable that this person is being allowed to continue to do so. I don’t care at all which party she represents but am disappointed that such a vibrant Union, whose membership “mould the nation’s children”, can blatantly breach its own Rules. How can we instill respect for laws, morality, decency and democracy when we ourselves, deliberately violate our own Rules?Can’t concerned teachers and Union members invoke whatever clause exists in their Rules to ensure compliance? Would legal action help to dislodge this violator of the GTU’s charter? The other issue concerns the continued functioning of some Trade Unions which have for YEARS violated the Trade Unions Act, by their failure to meet the requirements of filing returns to the Registrar of Trade Unions AND more importantly have their annual Financial Accounts audited, by the Auditor General’s Office. Having spoken with a few union leaders, I’ve been told that accounts were submitted to the AG but a shortage of staff in that office is responsible for their accounts not being audited. I know as a fact, that the AG is permitted to “contract” out audits, where he feels compelled to do so, due to lack of staff or expertise. AGAIN, how can the membership of these defaulting unions permit this absolutely absurd, ridiculous and dangerous situation to continue year after year, and continue to express confidence in their “leadership”? How can the membership of these unions be assured that their membership dues are being conservatively, wisely and properly utilized in THEIR best interests? I sincerely hope someone in GPSU (of which I was once, many moons ago, the Assistant Treasurer) would attempt a response. As a “side issue” (since I said ONLY two issues) can the GTUC say definitively how many active and functioning unions are currently under their “umbrella”? I understand one “union leader” resides overseas and only visits Guyana periodically, for “specific” reasons. Sincerely anticipate responses from any source(s) including TUC, FITUG and individual Trade Unions, on whether my assertions are accurate or not. Best regards, Harry N Nawbatt Related Similar Articles