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CARICOM and Spain decide on areas of cooperation for the next five years Aug 03, 2024 News Assistant Secretary-General, Elizabeth (Centre, L) and Director of AECID, His Excellency Anton Leis Garcia (Centre, R), sign a new agreement for technical cooperation between CARICOM and Spain, during the IV Meeting of the Joint Commission of the Spain-CARICOM Fund held recently at the CARICOM Secretariat Headquarters. Looking on are CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr. Carla Barnett and officials from the CARICOM Secretariat and AECID. Kaieteur News – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Kingdom of Spain have signed a new agreement for technical cooperation in food and nutrition security, health, climate change, and disaster risk reduction for the next five years. CARICOM Secretariat in a statement said that the focal areas were approved at the IV Meeting of the Joint Commission of the Spain-CARICOM Fund which was held recently at the CARICOM Secretariat headquarters in Georgetown, Guyana. The meeting was intended to continue the dialogue between CARICOM and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) to establish priority areas of cooperation and define the strategic objectives for a new cooperation program, within the framework of the Scientific and Technical Cooperation Agreement between the two parties. Ms. Elizabeth Solomon, Assistant Secretary-General for Foreign and Community Relations, signed the agreement on behalf of the CARICOM Secretariat, while His Excellency Antón Leis García, Director of AECID, signed for Spain. Ms. Solomon stated that the areas were “well-aligned” with the Community’s aims of increasing food security, addressing climate change, and strengthening regional health systems. In terms of health, she said: “CARICOM’s strategic focus is centered on addressing emerging health challenges and fortifying health systems in the Region, with specific emphasis on prevention and control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), enhancing maternal and child health outcomes, strengthening health systems to ensure universal access to quality healthcare services, and addressing environmental health threats”. She also stated that the Community is working to reduce the region’s food import bill by 25% by 2025, improve intra-regional trade, strengthen the agri-food system, foster long-term wealth creation opportunities for potential investors, and ensure food and nutrition security for all CARICOM Member States. With reference to climate change, the Assistant Secretary-General stated that the meeting occurred at a time when several CARICOM Member States were working to recover from the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Beryl. “The storms that impact the Region are becoming stronger and more frequent…The lack of access to concessional development financing and climate funding affects our ability to adapt to this crisis. Therefore, we must act urgently alongside development partners such as Spain to ensure the Community can face the challenges ahead,” Assistant Secretary-General Solomon stated. The AECID Director highlighted the importance and urgency of discussing how to work multilaterally as like-minded partners to address matters such as development finance, climate action, and support for Haiti. “We are very engaged in Haiti. We never closed our office. We remain engaged. We have contributed three million dollars to the international mission that is being deployed there. We salute the leadership of CARICOM not only in trying to bring security and stability to the country but also in forging a political solution and we are very encouraged by the developments on the ground.” Mr. Leis stated. (CARICOM Secretariat) Related Similar Articles

Emancipation arch unveiled at Victoria Village Aug 03, 2024 News The emancipation arch that was unveiled in Victoria Village (DPI) DPI – The government has partnered with residents of Victoria Village, East Coast Demerara (ECD) to build an emancipation arch in the community in recognition of the resilience, sacrifices, and indomitable spirit of African ancestors. Designed by 14-year-old, Kayden Meusa, the magnificent arch was unveiled on Thursday evening, as part of the community’s Emancipation Day activities. Attending the historic ceremony were Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, and Chair of Victoria Emancipation and Anniversary Planning Committee (VAPC), Kenneth Semple. Minister Anthony said that the arch will stand as a lasting reminder for future generations to fully understand and appreciate the sacrifices made by their ancestors. “This is the history that you came from. If we fail to remind the next generation of these atrocities, people would believe that what you have today and what you are celebrating came lightly…We have to find ways and means to teach people this history because it is important,” Dr. Anthony explained. Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, and young artist, Kayden Meusa (DPI) The health minister also believes that a lot more can be done to celebrate Victoria’s rich tradition and culture. “We have a very rich history. And what we won in terms of this liberation in 1838 did not come without a struggle. It came because there were lots of people over many years that were involved in struggling for change in this country. We can go back as far as 1763,” he said. Back in August 2013, the 1823 Monument, which was unveiled by then President, Donald Ramotar, honours the enslaved that lost their lives during the 1823 Demerara slave uprising. Plantation Northbrook, renamed to Victoria, was the first village in Guyana that was bought by the freed slaves. Dr. Anthony emphasised the importance of such celebrations, noting that everyone has been able to make a valuable contribution towards the development of Guyana. Meanwhile, the young artist, Meusa noted that he conducted detailed research on Victoria’s history to compile the design of the arch. A plaque and a token were given to the youngster for his exemplary work. Related Similar Articles

Male drivers cause majority of accidents in Guyana – Minister Benn Aug 03, 2024 News Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn at the Road Safety Stakeholders’ Forum 2024 and Road Safety Campaign Launch. Kaieteur News – Young male drivers reportedly cause the majority of accidents in Guyana, Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn disclosed on Friday during the 2024 Road Safety Stakeholders’ Forum and Road Safety Campaign Launch. The event was held at the Police Officers Mess Annexe, Eve Leary, Georgetown. “Young men, mostly young men some in the public transportation sector, young men who will go carousing and then become drivers of vehicles and our statistics perhaps as yet does not discern what the impact of driving under the influence is  in relation to road traffic deaths and accidents.” He added, “It merely talks about speeding but much of the speeding comes as a result of young and middle aged men too I think,” Benn said at the forum which is a partnership among the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Guyana National Road Safety Council, ANSA McAl Distribution Inc, and Unicomer Guyana Inc. The forum addressed the commitment and future plans of key stakeholders and partners on actions undertaken to reduce deaths, injuries, crashes and trauma on the country’s roadways by 50%. “When we look at the problem of course as it was mentioned that most of the accidents and the fatalities resulted are …mostly young men and of course there are others too, who are impacted directly,” the Minister said during his address. Benn acknowledged the inappropriate behaviour of road users and highlighted that as a result of this behaviour, fatal accidents/ accidents will be a continuous problem. Minister Benn said that most road fatalities occur on the weekends and in the evening.  He said, “…From Fridays to Mondays and in the evenings are the times in which we have mostly these serious events.” He continued: “…And it behooves us to pay a particular attention to better discernment of what those statistics tells us and respond with measures to deal with the phenomenal, which is (what) the statistics tells us about.” At the forum, it was revealed that Guyana recorded 74 fatal accidents in 2023, while 56 road deaths are the current statistics in 2024. As a result, the Minister said that specific attention will be paid to behaviours. “…we [must] adapt the most responsible behaviour, to protect ourselves and by extension our friends, family, the community and the country in respect of these issues,” he said noting that the issuing of posters about road safety can aid in curbing the high incidence of accidents. “And again, I say all our problem is improper male adult behaviour,” he said adding that “Our men still have economic power and physical power and our men still think they alone should lead.” He continued, “…Our men still… perhaps the younger ones, we have default perhaps in bringing them up of one thing to be the leader, one thing to be the go getter, and not providing enough space I think for woman, for partnership, for development, not yielding enough space, not opening enough more degrees of freedom for woman in partnership in the society.” Further, the Home Affairs Minister said that road users speed because they assume they can get away with it. “It’s simple, persons speed perhaps because they know even if they are charged, they would not appear in court to pay the fine,” Benn said while criticizing police officers for accepting bribery. He said traffic offenders continue to break the law because they are allowed to pay bribes to escape penalty. Further, the Minister took aim at traffic offenders who assume they can, “make a call and somebody will get them off of it.” “It is my view now that we will not get a better hold in this situation if people are not made to feel the appropriate sanctions for reckless misbehaviour, dangerous behaviour,” Benn stressed. As such, Benn posited that traffic fines should increase three times while announcing that the Government intends to put in place the requisite technology in track court cases. “So I will push forward the effort along with the Attorney General (Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC) to increase road traffic fines by at least three times,” the Home Affairs Minister said while lamenting that the “road deaths and those who have lost their lives on the roads is for me a personal tragedy too.” Minister Benn reminded that the United Nations has the global imperative of road safety and the reduction of road traffic deaths this decade. As such, it is expected by 2030 that the deaths on Guyana’s roadways should be less than 50 annually. Related Similar Articles

Cheating is wrang! Aug 03, 2024 Dem Boys Seh, Features / Columnists, News Kaieteur News – Dem boys seh dis country funny, funny bad. We quick fuh holler ‘cheat!’ when somebody try fuh mek a move in exam or sports. We set up all kinda fancy systems fuh prevent leak, peep, and sneak. Dem students gotta keep dem eyes pon dem own paper. And dem athletes? If yuh catch dem wid a lil needle, dem get ban quicker than yuh could blink. And don’t talk bout marriage! Cheat on yuh spouse, and de whole village talking. Is like we got dis big morality compass fuh everything. But come elections, da compass does spin wild. All of a sudden, all dem rules and morals does get throw out de window. People trying fuh win by any means necessary. Dem boys seh is like we get blind fuh one side winning. Exams is about yuh proving what yuh know. Sports is about fair play. Marriage is about trust. But elections? Dem is about we future as a whole nation! Yet, we does pretend like cheating is alright as long as it bring we party to power. Where de big, loud outrage gone? Dem boys seh, it gone hiding like thief in de night. We quick fuh point finger at dem students, athletes, and spouses, but when it come to politicians and elections? We shoulda holler loud when we see corruption and dishonesty. Politics shoulda got same moral standards like de rest. But nah, we does only talk ‘bout fairness in politics when is convenient. Dem boys seh, if yuh gon play clean, play clean all round. Not just in exams, sports, and marriage, but in politics too. ‘Cause at the end of the day, all we want is a fair deal, a fair shot, and a fair life. Yuh can’t cherry-pick morality, dat’s how de whole ting does spoil. Talk half. Leff half. Related Similar Articles

Fraser-Pryce, Richardson and Alfred to contest same women’s 100m semifinal in Paris Aug 03, 2024 Sports Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sha’Carri Richardson and Julien Alfred will be lining up against each other in the same semifinal at the Olympics. SportsMax – The semifinals of the women’s 100m at the Paris Olympics will provide some of the most anticipated battles of the athletics programme. With all the projected medal contenders successfully making it through the heats yesterday, the fields for today’s semifinals have been set with a monumental clash set to take place in the second semifinal between three of the fastest women on earth. The second semifinal will see Jamaica’s three-time Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce lining up against American reigning World champion and current world leader Sha’Carri Richardson as well as St. Lucian reigning World Indoor 60m champion and 2023 Bowerman Award winner Julien Alfred. Fraser-Pryce was the fastest of the three in yesterday’s heats with her 10.92 to finish second behind Marie Josee Ta Lou-Smith in the eighth and final heat. Richardson ran 10.94 to win the first heat while Alfred won the second heat in 10.95. The rest of the field for semifinal two includes Gina Bass-Bittaye, Rosemary Chukwuma, Bree Masters, Patrizia Van de Weken, Imani Lansiquot and Gladymar Torres. Jamaica’s Shashalee Forbes will contest the first semifinal against the likes of Ta Lou-Smith, who was fastest in the heats with her 10.87, 2019 World 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith and World Indoor Championships 60m silver medallist Ewa Swoboda. Zaynab Dosso, Rani Rosius, Melissa Jeffferson, Mujinga Kambundji and Boglarka Takacs complete the field in that semifinal. Jamaica’s Tia Clayton and Trinidad & Tobago’s Leah Bertrand will contest the third semifinal. That field is completed by Daryll Neita, Audrey Leduc, TeeTee Terry, Karolina Manasova, Zoe Hobbs, Gina Lueckenkemper and Delphine Nkansa. The top two from each semifinal will advance to the final along with the next two fastest times. The semifinals are set to start at 12:50pm Jamaica Time (1:50pm EST) with the final scheduled for 2:20pm (3:20pm EST). Related Similar Articles

Avion Kesney, Rehana Romain shine at YBG’s All Star Basketball Weekend Aug 03, 2024 Sports Rehana Romain (right) receiving her MVP award at the conclusion of the 2024 All Star Weekend at the National Gymnasium. Kaieteur Sports – Team G-Boats (Yellow) and Team Chico (White) clinched the Boys’ and Girls’ Under-18 All Star titles, while Team KFC (White) dominated the Boys’ U14 category as Youth Basketball Guyana wrapped up another National Schools Basketball Festival season with their prestigious All Star Weekend event at the National Gymnasium last Sunday. With the 2024 season concluded, Co-director of YBG, Chris Bowman and the team have many positives to look forward to in the coming years. The All Star Weekend is a unique opportunity for the best high school players to showcase their talent and skills with a bit more freedom, without the pressure of team expectations. Avion Kesney from the KFC All Stars now has the distinction of winning the Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards in both the NSBF Inter-School and All Star events, achieving this feat with a brilliant 22-point game against KFC Blue in Sunday’s U14 All Stars matchup. Rehana Romain is another outstanding prospect on the basketball scene, clinching the Girls U18 All Star MVP award with an electric performance, scoring 18 points out of 27 as Team Chico (White) dismantled Team Blue by 13 points. Her MVP performance also included 8 rebounds and 7 steals. Young Avion Kesney (right) claims another NSBF MVP award. The Boys’ U18 division, Cordel Hoyte and Colwyn Stephens dominated play against Team Blue, as Team G-Boats (Yellow) edged out the Blues 59-57. Both Hoyte and Stephens finished with double-doubles; Hoyte earned the coveted MVP award with 20 points and 17 rebounds, while Stephens added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Here are the highlights from the Youth Basketball Guyana High School All Star Weekend 2024: In the Under-14 division, Team KFC (White) defeated KFC Red 52-47. The points were shared among Avion Kesney (22 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals), Kemal Pickering (10 points and 8 rebounds), and Darren Dublin (8 points and 5 rebounds). Team Chico (White), led by Rehana Romain and Junelly Paddy, down Team Blue 27-14. Romain top scored the game with 18 points, while Paddy contributed 8 points and 13 rebounds. The Boys’ Under-18 division saw Team G-Boats (Yellow) toppling G-Boats Blue by a 2-point margin, with Hoyte, Stephens, and Stephen George sealing the win for Team Yellow. The match ended 59-57 in favour of Team Yellow. The top Performers for Team G-Boats (Yellow) are Cordel Hoyte (20 points and 17 rebounds), Colwyn Stephens (13 points and 10 rebounds), and Stephen George (12 points and 9 rebounds). The event concluded the National School Basketball Festival season, sponsored this year by Edward B. Beharry Ltd, G-Boats GY, and KFC Guyana. Related Similar Articles

National players to feature among start-studded teams as Kares One Guyana T10 bowls off today  Aug 03, 2024 Sports Keemo Paul Kaieteur Sports – Action bowls off today with 32 teams competing in the second edition of Kares One Guyana T10 Blast tournament. Star attractions in former and current players in Leon Johnson, Jonathan Foo, Kevlon Anderson, Christopher Barnwell, Asad Fudadin, and Keemo Paul are set to turn out for their respective teams. More so, seasoned campaigners like Omesh Danmram, Trevor Benn, and Damion Vantull, among a host of talented national youth players, will be on show. Several active national players, former West Indies players, and numerous youth players are part of the T10 Blast, which will be played on August 3 at three venues: Queen’s College Ground, Police Sports Club, and Lusignan Community Centre Ground. Leon Johnson The following day will be the Round of 16 at Police and Lusignan, the quarter-finals at Enmore Community Centre Ground on August 11, and the finals at the National Stadium, Providence, on August 25. The competition promises to be fierce, and a larger prize pool will entice the 32 participating teams. The champions will receive G$1.5 million, while the runners-up will receive G$500,000. The losing semi-finalists each get G$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. Jonathan Foo Matches for today August 3 will see MS-13 All-Stars playing Team Corruption on Pitch 1 from 09:30h while Upsetters battle GPL Inc. On Pitch 2 from 09:30h at Queen’s College Ground. Montra Jaguars tackle Falcons XI at Police Ground from 09:30h. Street Ballerz and Village Rams battle at Lusignan Ground from 09:30h. EC Express play Mahdia also at Lusignan from 11:30h while Soesdyke XI and Airport XI play at QC pitch 1 from 11:30h. Renegades Cricket Club battle Tarmac Titans at PSC from 11:30h with Eccles All-Stars and Eastsyde doing battle at QC pitch 2 from 11:30h. Titans All-Stars play Stripling Warriors at PSC from 13:30h while PREMIER Insurance battle Ministry of Housing at QC pitch 1 from 13:30h. Moruca SuperGiants tackle Lil Rams at QC pitch 2 from 13:30h with The Guards and Mahaica Super Strikers battling from 13:30h at Lusignan. Green Scorpions play Avinash All-Stars at QC pitch 1 from 15:30h, with Brooklyn Youth Strikers and Cotton Tree Die Hard doing battle at PSC from 15:30h. Diamond Gunners and TG Titans play at Lusignan from 15:30h while The United Crew and Bartica Bulls wrap up action at QC pitch 2 from 15:30h. Related Similar Articles