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akeem@newsroom.gy

If anyone attempted to script the end of this year’s Milo Schools Under-18 Football Championship, it is improbable they would have penned the thrilling encounter between Chase Academic Foundation and Santa Rosa Secondary on Sunday evening at the Ministry of Education Ground, Carifesta Avenue.

At half-time, Chase was up 2-0, and it truly seemed done and dusted for the talented Region One team, until a dramatic change in score line and eventual success for Santa Rosa.

The nimble marksmen of the city side, Seon Cato and Matrim Martin, scored two minutes apart, with Cato first hitting his mark in the 22^nd after a tense opening exchange between the two sides.

Santa Rosa had some offerings on goal, but none that really tested custodian Reegan Lewis until the second-half where they found his weakness.

Five minutes into the second-half, Roy Vansluytman had a shot on goal and what should have been a pedestrian stop, went through the hands of Lewis, and Santa Rosa was back in the hunt.

It sent off a thunderous cheer from the massive support for the visiting team and their tactics changed to one where they created more opportunities to test the goalie from the long ball at times.

MVP! Roy Vansluytman collects his Most Valuable Player award from the President of the Guyana Football Federation, Wayne Forde

Though still leading by one, the pressure was on the three-time champions, and a foul outside of the box presented a free-kick opportunity.

Slotted to the back-post, against the wind, the towering Vansluytman leaped to head the equaliser and his ninth tournament goal in the 73^rd, and the match was truly on again.

Ten minutes later, Justin Alcindor of Chase saw his shot enter the net after a deflection from a defender and it was back on a knife’s edge.

In keeping with the theme of the second-half drama, a goal was bound to come, and it came one minute later via Nelson Lucas that levelled proceedings for Santa Rosa.

Though 90 minutes into the contest, there were hardly any slouched shoulders with fans cheering every play during an enterprising 20 minutes of extra that laid the way for the penalty shootout.

Both sides of the field were swamped with spectators, as Santa Rosa took the first shot and scored, and Chase followed and did the same.

Chase Academic Foundation produced a valiant effort, but had to settle for second

Tense again was the crowd, surprisingly despite all the early ruckus, you could hear a pin drop at this point with all eyes pierced on the penalty area.

Santa Rosa scored again, and the cheers probably could have been heard all along the seawall.

It was Chase’s time again, and this time, it was no goal for them and it was the fault that cost them as Santa Rosa had a perfect five.

Locked 3-3 after extra time, Santa Rosa won 5-3 on penalties in their maiden outing in the tournament – an unbeaten run in seven matches – six wins and a draw.

Earlier, Carmel Secondary won the third-place playoff by defeating McKenzie High 3-0 via goals from Samuel Ferguson (34th), Shem James (46th), and Ian Daniels (85th).

Santa Rosa was voted the most discipline team while their players, Vansluytman and Enrique Williams, won the Most Valuable Player and Best Goal Keeper accolades respectively, while Daniels’ 13 goals were the most for the tournament.

The top four teams were rewarded G$300,000, G$200,000, G$100,000, and G$75,000 respectively, towards school projects.

Santa Rosa indicated they would use the funds to build on their football programme.

Backed by Massy Distribution Guyana Inc. through its Milo brand, the tournament was also supported by MVP Sports, GenEquip Guyana Ltd. and GINMIN Guyana.

Up next for the Petra Organisation will be its ExxonMobil Boys and Girls Under-14 tournament, set to commence mid-May.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal during his contribution to the debate of Budget 2023 (Photo: DPI/January 23, 2023)

Currently, applications have to be made at the various local authorities, whether town council or Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), to apply for permits and make separate applications at other agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Ministry of Public Works and the Guyana Fire Service.

The new law will allow for the management and implementation of the system through a small secretariat for oversight.

Legislation to give effect to the system, styled as the Planning and Development Single Window System Bill, was expected to be passed in the National Assembly on Monday.

Instead, Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal announced that following the debate, the Bill will be sent to a Special Select Committee for a “brief period.”

Croal informed the House that, along with technical staff from his Ministry, he met with seen Opposition Parliamentarians on Sunday where a number of queries were raised and amendments to the Bill proposed.

“We do intend following the debate to send the Bill for a brief period to a Special Select Committee,” Croal said. While in the Special Select Committee, MPs from both the government and opposition side of the House will be engaged in robust discussions to agree on a final draft before the Bill is returned to the National Assembly for eventual passage.

Former Minister with responsibility for Housing and Water Annette Ferguson made contributions from the Opposition benches.

“I commend you for your efforts, Honourable member and your technical team, that they sacrificed their Sunday just to meet with us.

“I wish to report to the National Assembly that the discussions were quite professional and cordial,” Ferguson said.

She said the piece of legislation was a “good Bill” and the Opposition intends to support it.

“… but we do have concerns and proposed amendments,” she added.

Ferguson believes this is a model to emulate when dealing with other Bills of importance.

A $202.9 million contract for the development and implementation of the information technology solution for the single window system was signed in December 2022 between the Central Housing and Planning Authority and Global Services – a consortium including a local company and companies from the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

Ferguson believes this engagement between the government and the opposition at the parliamentary level should have taken place before the contract was signed.

Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water Susan Rodgrigues provided some details on the opposition’s “last hour” proposed amendments and said she struggled to make sense of the amendments even as she questioned the consultative process that led to the suggestions.

Among the proposed amendments is for the Director of the Single Window Unit to be appointed by the Parliamentary Committee of Appointments, for the unit to be staffed through appointments by the Public Service Commission and for the Planning Oversight Committee to have a nominee from the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.

Rodrigues believes these proposed amendments defeat the purpose of the Bill which is intended to remove political control.

“It is cumbersome and unhelpful to the functioning of the system.

“It is an attempt to politicise the process and more importantl they want to frustrate the process,” Minister Rodrigues said.

to query from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the incident involving Thomas, the United States embassy in Georgetown on Friday said there was no specific information to share.

In the response, seen by the News Room, which came from the Deputy Chief of Mission, Adrienne Galanek; it outlined that travellers, including citizens of the United States, are subject to such inspections.

Galanek, in her response, said that once CBP officers at a port of entry need more information to determine a person’s admissibility into the U.S., that person may be directed to an interview area known as secondary inspection.

“Anyone, including U.S. citizens, may be subject to secondary inspection if the CBP officer has reservations about admitting him or her…It allows CBP officers to conduct additional research to verify information without delaying other travelers,” the US Embassy told the Foreign Ministry here.

During a secondary inspection, the CBP officer may ask detailed questions about travel plans and immigration history. Persons may be asked to produce additional proof of identification and detailed information about the purpose of their visit to the U.S.

To this end, Galanek reminded in the letter that both the person and their belongings may be subject to a thorough search. Such inspections may include a search of all electronic information stored on your laptop, cell phone or other electronic device.

Decipher Health Records Inc. will be establishing a new healthcare call centre in Guyana with plans to provide at least 300 jobs once fully operational.

The Guyana Office for Investment, the investment agency of the government, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which will see the call centre being operational in Guyana this year.

According to a press release from the Guyana Office for Investment (GO Invest), Decipher Health Records is visiting possible locations and working through the implementation stage for the establishment of the call centre. Its target, once fully operational, is 300 Seats.

“This signing is an indication of the Government of Guyana initiatives to create employment throughout the country and facilitate the rapid expansion of economic activities countrywide to boost the economy and support the diversification of the non-oil sector,” the Head of GO Invest, Dr. Peter Ramsaroop was quoted as saying.

Decipher Health Records Inc., headquartered in Bengaluru (India), provides offshore back-office services to medical doctors in the United States of America.

Founded in the year 2000, Decipher has been providing real-time scribing, revenue cycle management services and allied transcription services.

In India, Decipher operates out of four cities, employing over 750 people, to render these services. All of Decipher’s facilities are Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant and feature state-of-the-art technology, GO-Invest said.

Furthermore, Dr. Ramsaroop, according to the release, reminded the public that President Dr Irfaan Ali made the Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) sector a priority, given Guyana’s proximity to the Americas, time zone, and a young educated population, in addition to add thousands of new jobs to the industry.

It is estimated that the industry will sustain a minimum of 15,000 jobs across Guyana by 2025.

“We are building four new call centre shells in Essequibo and Berbice, in addition to refurbishing the Enmore and Tuschen Call Centres. We are also pleased that the Call Centre in Linden, Region 10 that was signed with Midas is functioning and young Guyanese have access to jobs that were terminated by the last Government, Dr Ramsaroop was quoted as saying.

36-year-old Telisha Domandeo, was found dead at Canje Creek, Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne) on Sunday morning.

The News Room understands that the man was found dead next to the Brotherson pump station by Police ranks.

Reports indicate that he died by suicide.

Persons at Brotherson pump, Canje, searching for the man’s body

 

Chowdharilall Rameshand, 63, Durga’s brother said the family was informed on Sunday morning that the man’s body was floating near the Brotherson pump station.

No marks of violence were seen about the man’s body, he said.

Police had issued a wanted bulletin for the man after the mother of his child was found with a wound to the neck by Police ranks in Berbice, Region Six on Friday morning.

Wrapped in a blanket, the woman’s body lay motionless in a clump of bushes at Betsy Ground, East Canje, Berbice. The discovery comes exactly one week after the Police were informed that the woman was abducted from her mother’s residence on April 14, 2023.