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Golden Stars to tackle Buxton tomorrow in EDFA Men’s Senior League Football  Aug 01, 2024 Sports Kaieteur News – The East Demerara Football Association (EDFA) Senior Men’s League, which commenced on Sunday last at the National Training Centre (NTC) in Providence, saw a disappointing appearance from Golden Grove-based Golden Stars Football team, losing 2-1 in the opener against Airy Hall. The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President, Wayne Forde attended the opening ceremony at NTC marking the start of the exciting 2024 league. The league witness a fiery start to the competition, in the opening match between Mahaicony-based Airy Hall and Golden Stars and saw Airy Hall edging out The Stars with a 2-1 scoreline. Elton Amsterdam struck early for Airy Hall in the 7th minute, but Joshua Harper managed the equalizer for Golden Stars in the 30th minute. The match-winner came late when Daniel Blair netted Airy Hall’s second goal of the evening in the 84th minute to seal the 2-1 victory. The league action will resume tomorrow (Friday) evening at Buxton Ground with an exciting doubleheader. At 19:00 hours, BV Triumph United will face off against Mahaica Determinators, followed by a clash between home team Buxton Stars and Golden Stars. Related Similar Articles

GGA Annual General Meeting set for August 21 Aug 01, 2024 Sports Paramaribo Golf Club and Guyana Golf Association partnered to host events during the last year. Kaieteur Sports – The Guyana Golf Association (GGA) is pleased to announce that it will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on August 21, 2024, at 6:00 PM. The meeting will take place at the Scout Association Ground on Woolford Avenue. The AGM provides an important opportunity for members and stakeholders of the GGA to review the past year’s activities, discuss strategic plans, and address any pertinent issues affecting the sport of golf in Guyana. Parts of the Agenda will see, Opening Remarks, Welcoming and introduction by the GGA president Aleem Hussain, approval of Minutes, Review and approval of the minutes from the previous AGM. President’s Report which entails an overview of the year’s activities, achievements, and challenges. Treasurer’s Report, Presentation of the financial statements and budget for the upcoming year. Committee Reports with Updates from various committees, including junior development, tournament organization, and membership. Election of Officers – Election of new officers for the coming term. Strategic Plan Discussion along with the presentation and discussion of the strategic plan for the growth and development of golf in Guyana. Also, an open forum for members to provide feedback, suggestions and ask questions. The GGA encourages all members to attend this important meeting to contribute to the future of golf in Guyana. For more information or to confirm attendance in person or via Zoom, please contact Al Wilson at 656-9475. Related Similar Articles

KEVIN ‘2Feet’ Joseph / Team 13 U23 Basketball Semifinals on tonight Aug 01, 2024 Sports Part of last Saturday’s action that determined the last four teams in the tournament. Kaieteur Sports – Tonight the semifinals in the Kevin ‘2Feet’ Joseph / Team 13 Under23 basketball competition will be played at the Amelia’s Ward Hard Court. In the first semifinal game scheduled for 6.30pm Block 22 Flames, who failed to show against Retrieve Raiders in their preliminary round, and lost via a walkover, will now try to win on court and book a place in the final. The other semifinal is set for 8.30pm and the Victory Valley Royals, the only unbeaten team in the tournament, will face the challenge of Amelia’s Ward Jets who they defeated 42-39 when the two teams played each other in the round robin. In the latest results, Victory Valley Royals overcame Central Mackenzie Kings, 69-55, last Saturday night to have an unbeaten record in round robin play and topped the point’s standings in what was the final game in the preliminary round involving five clubs. Earlier, Retrieve Raiders won against Amelia’s Ward Jets, 59-51. Royals’ Kobe Tappin top scored with 24 points and Godwin George had nine points. The best scorer for Kings was Joe Warner with 11 points.For the Raiders’ victory, Shemar Savoury scored a game high 26 points and Damian Vincente hit in nine. Joel Benjamin with 14 points and Stephan George 12, were their best players for Jets. Last Friday Retrieve Raiders won via a walkover over Block 22 Flames. In the other game, Jets defeated Central Mackenzie Kings, 47-35, as Stephen George netted 10 points, and Tyreese Arthur did likewise for the Kings scoring 10 points. Eliminated, were the Kings club, with the other four reaching the semifinals. Trophies and medals are on offer for the top clubs. Related Similar Articles

Liberty, will it ever be for this country?  Aug 01, 2024 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column Kaieteur News – Emancipation!  Man was born to be free.  There had to be an Emancipation Day because men made slaves of other men.  From fetters to freedom.  From the removal of shackles to the richness of a soaring of the spirit.  It was what was meant to be.  From day one.  From Egypt and Moses to Babylon and Cyrus to America and Lincoln, the whips were stilled, and men thrilled to the joy of liberty at last.  Free as a bird, free as a whiff of cool summer’s eve air.  August 1 is a day at long last of human dignity; one that came about due to the infamy of slavery.  Regrettably, August 1, is now a day trampled by more human notoriety and indignities right here in Guyana. GHK Lall The oil came and the thoughts were that the drudgery and economic misery of the Guyanese people would fade slowly at first, then more quickly with each passing year, to its rightful place over the horizon.  Never to return.  Instead of Guyana’s oil wealth, the inheritance of all Guyanese, being used to free them, it is being misused by leaders to squeeze them into a corner and keep them locked up there.  There is enough oil to deliver the kind of economic emancipation that belongs to every single citizen of this country.  but only if it is managed honestly.  It has not been so.  Which leader, what kind of government thinker, where does one find a government that drafts an oil fund bill to be finalized into law, and leaves out a penalty for stealing or any other kind of wrongdoing with the people’s oil money?  It is freedom from imprisonment (emancipation) for some in government who oversee, who participate, in misdeeds of this kind.  It is slavery for those not so doggedly dishonest as even to think of tampering with the money that must be shared with others. The oil money, as small as it is, could still mean something, make a difference, in the lives of Guyanese on the lower rungs of the economic ladder.  But those in charge of the money, the decision-makers in the sitting government, have abandoned ideas pertaining to fairness, equity, and the inclusivity that should be prioritized. To make this country be the real country that it should be but has never even tried to be.  National leaders have talked about it, promised it, but are yet to deliver it.  PPP is one pea in that pod, the PNC is another.  The arrival of oil should have eradicated the economic gaps; wise leaders would have seen to that, worked ethically and industriously to arrive there.  They haven’t; and they do not even bother to justify their actions anymore.  The preference is to deliver broadsides to those who tell leaders how naked they are, and why more people are not pointing to their shame.  Guyanese reality is that the rich have become superrich, the usual mass of poor grown larger and poorer.  An amputating cost of living regime, with ever-increasing prices for food and most other necessities of life, has buried struggling citizens deeper, pushed them farther back.  This is not the long-awaited for, glorious, emancipation promised by oil.  This is of Guyana’s political leaders in the PPP Government, and to a lesser degree in the PNC opposition, consenting to serve in the enslavers’ kitchen and leave their people to fend for themselves.  When trust is betrayed, then confidence flees.  And when both of those are lost by the expectant in an oil-producing country, then what is the result if not this new man-made slavery that disguises itself as capitalism’s prosperity and oil democracy. Emancipation!  The PPP Government makes a big production out of it, how much they would do to make that happen from the oil.  The PNC Opposition is at a lower level of brightness.  If one or the other were true to their public postures and verbal productions, then Guyanese would be more than the richest people in the world.  Guyanese would be the economically freest, they would be the proud owners of what is unfettered and unfazed by any circumstances.  Leaders wouldn’t have a need to manipulate their minds, or massage their memories, to the point that all they see are internal enemies.  The coming of oil has driven Guyanese to line themselves up one against the other.  Some cheap, sleazy cult leader turns on a switch and all the lights go off in many Guyanese heads.  It is a frightening picture of citizens openly and readily enslaving themselves. August 1 should not be a day of singular celebration for Guyanese of African descent only.  Universal emancipation compels its celebration by all freedom loving people.  The experts scattered across the globe say that Guyanese are on top of the world.  Somebody should explain to half of them (to me) why their feet are fastened in the dungeon.  If our feet are cemented, riveted, to the floor, then how can our heads soar to heights that are rightly ours?  We try too hard, and we could split ourselves in two. Oil slavery.  Callous and cunning leadership slaveries.  It is August 1, and every Guyanese should be first in line.  Now, there is an Emancipation Day to remember!  A dream or a damnation?  Yet, this is the jarring reality of the Guyanese condition on this August 1, Emancipation Day in the year of our Lord.  He is taking a nap.  We must rest our chains, ease our fears, ignore our pains, rise above it all in the grace of a spirit that cannot be defeated.  Emancipation will come.  Guyanese must find a way to overcome.  We shall overcome! (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.) Related Similar Articles

Emancipation Day Aug 01, 2024 Editorial Kaieteur News – Today Guyana observes Emancipation Day which commemorates the abolition of slavery in 1834. Emancipation Day is also observed in many former European colonies in the Caribbean and areas of the United States and Canada on various dates in honour of enslaved people of African descent and other forms of slavery. The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 which abolished slavery throughout most of the British Empire came into force the following year on 1 August 1834. But only slaves under the age of six were freed. Former slaves over the age of six were re-designated as apprentices and were required to work 40 hours per week without pay, as part of their compensation payment to their former owners. Full emancipation was finally achieved at midnight on July 31, 1838. The commemoration of Emancipation Day on August 1, 1838 is an important day for Guyana. It is a day when Guyanese, mostly Afro-Guyanese, celebrate the freedom of their African ancestors and the beginning of the Guyanese nation. It ended an era of the dehumanization, brutalization and cultural destruction of man by man. The institution of slavery lasted for more than 400 years. It was the most inhumane in the history of mankind. It was a phenomenon that spanned the globe. Slavery was organized and executed by Europeans in pursuit of the accumulation of wealth and the development of Europe. Slavery brought affluence to the nations of Europe and North America; poverty and underdevelopment to the Caribbean, Africa, parts of Asia and other regions of the world. It resulted in the disparity in wealth between the rich and poor countries. Emancipation not only ended slavery in Guyana, it also sparked several radical changes in the social, political, economic and cultural life of the country. It was responsible for the arrival of the other racial groups who were brought to Guyana as indentured servants from India, China, Madeira (Portugal) and other parts of Europe to replace the African labour force on the sugar plantations. Emancipation had a positive effect on the development of towns and villages in the country. It created the opportunity for the development of modern villages and towns inhabited by the majority of Guyanese today. It was the dawn of a new era that gave birth to the trade union movement, the liberation of trade, the development and the opening of the hinterland by pork knockers. The civil service was born and the setting-up of artesian shops and small businesses created new communities. Many earned a living through the planting of cash crops while others with skills were employed.Emancipation was once a week-long celebration of cultural activities, festivals, concerts, parades, galas and a wreath-laying ceremony as a tribute to the ancestors. Today it is confined to a day. Most of the festivities before this year were organised by the Africa Cultural and Development Organization (ACDA) and the Cuffy 250 group with the common goal of promoting African culture and to educate the nation about history of slavery and its impact on the country. Every year, ACDA would choose a country from Africa as part of the festival since most Afro-Guyanese do not know their ancestral country.  Happy Emancipation Day to all. Related Similar Articles

How free is Guyana? Aug 01, 2024 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom Kaieteur News – As Guyana celebrates Emancipation, it is timely to question the extent of its freedom—especially considering the economic stranglehold foreign companies have on its economy. In Guyana’s case, the overwhelming influence of foreign multinationals has led to significant economic and political ramifications, raising concerns about the true extent of the country’s freedom. Guyana is experiencing a modern form of recolonization through foreign capital, with multinational corporations exerting significant control over its vital industries, including oil, gold, bauxite, and timber. This new wave of economic dominance is facilitated by the government’s consent, Foreign companies dominate key sectors of Guyana’s economy, including bauxite, gold, diamonds, manganese and, in the recent past, timber. These natural resources have long been the backbone of the country’s economic potential. However, the terms under which these resources are exploited have often placed foreign interests above national sovereignty. Contracts signed with these companies frequently include concessions that local companies can only dream of, effectively placing these foreign entities above national laws. The Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), for example, signed between the Government of Guyana and the oil companies provide a stability clause that if at any time after the signing of the PSA, there are changes in the laws of Guyana,  and those changers adversely affect the oil companies, the government has to take prompt affirmative action to restore the lost of impaired economic benefits so that the oil companies are not disadvantaged. In other words, no new laws can adversely affect the economic interests of the oil companies. In the gold industry, certain foreign companies in the past have enjoyed the exclusive right to export gold—a privilege then reserved for the government. This and other special status granted to foreign multinationals sideline local companies and undermines the government’s role in managing and regulating the country’s precious resources. The concentration of such power in the hands of foreign companies raises the question: how can Guyanese people truly determine their own future when their natural wealth is controlled by external entities? The issue of sovereignty becomes even more pressing when considering the government’s apparent inability to renegotiate oil contracts with foreign companies. Despite the legal right to do so, the government seems constrained by external pressures. This reluctance to renegotiate terms that could potentially benefit the nation more equitably points to a deeper issue: the influence of foreign powers in shaping national policies. If a country’s government cannot freely exercise its right to negotiate or renegotiate agreements that impact its economy, can it truly be considered free? The case of oil exploration and production is particularly poignant. The original contracts with foreign oil companies were negotiated under circumstances that have since changed, including significant discoveries that have substantially altered the country’s economic outlook. Yet, the government has not moved to renegotiate these contracts, leading to suspicions of external influence or pressure. This situation raises concerns about the autonomy of Guyana’s political leadership and the extent to which they can act in the best interests of the nation. Another concerning aspect of Guyana’s supposed freedom is the imposition of sanctions on local individuals and firms at the behest of foreign governments. In some instances, these sanctions are imposed without the foreign government providing substantial evidence of wrongdoing to the Guyanese authorities. This external imposition of penalties raises questions about the respect for Guyana’s sovereignty by powerful international players. The economic and political realities facing Guyana are deeply rooted in its history. The country’s wealth in natural resources has long attracted foreign interest, often leading to exploitative arrangements that have favoured external parties. This historical context has created a legacy of dependency on foreign investment and expertise, which continues to shape the country’s economic landscape. However, the current realities demand a re-examination of these arrangements. The modern global economy offers opportunities for greater local involvement in the management and exploitation of natural resources. Yet, Guyana’s experience suggests that the country is still grappling with the remnants of a colonial mindset, where foreign interests are prioritized over local development. The failure to provide local companies with the same concessions as foreign companies, and ensure equitable distribution of the country’s natural wealth speaks to a deeper issue of governance and national self-determination. The question of how free Guyana really is cannot be answered solely by looking at its political independence. It requires a critical examination of the economic structures and relationships that define its place in the global economy. For Guyana to truly be free, it must assert greater control over its natural resources and ensure that the benefits of these resources are equitably shared among its citizens. This includes renegotiating contracts with foreign companies, enforcing national laws without exceptions, and protecting the country’s sovereignty from external pressures. Ultimately, the question of freedom in Guyana is not just about political independence; it’s about economic sovereignty and the ability of the nation to chart its own course. The dominance of foreign companies in key sectors and the influence of external powers in national affairs challenge this notion of freedom. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.) Related Similar Articles

Kaieteur News would want the Government to take control of the procurement decisions of ExxonMobil Aug 01, 2024 Letters Dear Editor, A curious narrative was spun by the Kaieteur News lead article on July 30, headlined ‘Mozambique demands oil companies provide salaries, contract sums to Govt. – while Jagdeo says Guyana has no say in award of contracts by ExxonM’. The newspaper reported that Mozambique can receive reports from oil companies related to procurement of services and employed persons. It explained, among other things, that Mozambique requires companies to contribute to training of its nationals, and to submit reports on the nationalities of the companies it contracts. Kaieteur News also reported that Mozambique mandates quotas for the hiring of its nationals to the companies’ workforce. Conveniently, Kaieteur News opted not to note that Guyana has a similar framework. Guyana’s Local Content Act gave effect to the establishment of a Local Content Secretariat, which receives periodic reports about oil companies’ plans to procure, hire and train Guyanese talent, as well as post-implementation reports. The Secretariat is a regulator of local content. It ensures adherence to the Act, which sets aside quotas for hiring of Guyanese nationals to certified companies, and procurement of goods and services from Guyanese companies. Further, the Petroleum Agreements Guyana signs with oil companies, require that they contribute a fixed amount annually to a training fund for Guyanese nationals. Over the years, Kaieteur News has reported on these matters, covering local content earnings and successes extensively. It therefore begs the question, whether the newspaper mischievously pretends not to know information critical to the context of the article, to create a false impression of the local State of affairs. Was the article written by an ignorant reporter, and reviewed by editors not informed enough themselves to do their due diligence? The newspaper went on to state that, “However… [Vice President] Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has said that the Government has no say in Exxon’s awards of contracts or the spending of oil companies in the sector.” This is a futile attempt by Kaieteur News to tarnish the work of Vice President Jagdeo and to present a dichotomy between Guyana and Mozambique, with respect to the management of their respective oil and gas sectors. As explained above and conveniently forgotten by Kaieteur News, Guyana has a local content framework which, in addition to facilitating the furnishing of the Government with regular reports, has secured over US$1 billion for Guyanese companies since the Act was signed into law by President Irfaan Ali. However, the Government cannot go into a company’s procurement department and dictate its day-to-day affairs. That Kaieteur News would want the Government to take control of the procurement decisions of ExxonMobil, a private company, should alarm every business owner. Guyana receives profit oil and royalty because the company is developing Guyana’s resources. However, Guyana does not have a participating interest in the Stabroek Block. Therefore, it cannot commandeer ExxonMobil’s procurement and spending decisions. Not to mention, the government has done so much to strengthen the legal framework with the Petroleum Activities Act. The fiscal framework is also enhanced by the Natural Resource Fund Act 2021 and the model Petroleum Agreement for the offshore sector. Kaieteur News does this kind of conveniently forgetful and logically unsound journalism quite a lot. The Guyanese public deserves better. Yours respectfully, Ron McPhoy Related Similar Articles