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The Government of Guyana (GoG), through the Ministry of Natural Resources, is pleased to announce the award of contracts, through the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), to market Guyana’s share of crude from the three (3) Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels as follows:

• BB Energy Trading Limited – Liza Unity and Prosperity FPSOs
• JE Energy – Liza Destiny FPSO

The international firms have been selected, following a competitive procurement process that commenced in September 2024 and saw twenty-seven (27) bids being submitted to NPTAB.

In keeping with the Request for Bids, the evaluation was on a lots basis where the most substantially responsive bidder in relation to the combined lots was determined in keeping with the evaluation criteria.

The combined premium per barrel to be received by the GoG from these two companies for the crudes from these three FPSOs amounts to US$1.85, reflecting a substantial 93% increase compared to the US$0.96 premium secured in the previous period (20232024).

The duration of this contract will be for twelve (12) months commencing in 2024 (Press release) 

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The Congo Nya Cultural Foundation in Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, Berbice, started 43 years ago by the late Ivelaw James, known as ‘Brooks.’

And it is still buzzing with activity today as his son, Lij James, has taken up the mantle of ensuring the skills taught there are passed down to young children.

Starting up a drumming school about a year ago, James was at this year’s Berbice expo at Rose Hall, playing his drums and encouraging young ones to come for a free, on-the-spot crash course.

His intention is to do all he can to preserve the Guyanese culture and bring back old folk drumming.

“The foundation started in 1981 by my dad and I have been playing as a kid coming up and it’s been passing from generation to generation. We incorporate the Guyanese culture, mixed with a little of African, and we blend it and it’s like a Guyanese fusion. It’s local folk songs with the drums,” James related in an interview with News Room on Sunday at the expo.

Sponsored by the Small Business Bureau this year, James is also into handmade craft and had his items displayed at the expo. Meanwhile, he continued to entertaining passersby with his drumming.

“At the expo, you have the opportunity to learn to play the drum without coming to a drumming school. It’s like the drumming school coming to you. Kids can come and play with the group free of cost,” he said.

The drumming school he started up has 17 students at the moment, ages five to 15 years old. “I realised that the culture is dying out, so I am trying to bring it back to people; bring back the Guyanese, old folk drumming back to them,” he shared.

“I love doing this. I was born into it and I am passionate about it. Whatever I have in me I bring it out in the drums,” he added.

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The Guyana Chess Federation’s junior chess teams are heading to French Guiana from October 24th to 26th to participate in the 2024 Inter Guiana Games.

The female team includes WCM Aditi Joshi, Ciel Clement, Kaija Clement, and Italy Ton-Chung, while the male team features CM Sachin Pitamber, Alexander Zhang, and Omar Shariff.

Due to last-minute opt-outs, Kaija Clement will fill in on the female team, leaving the male team one member short.

The teams are led by Coach Roberto Nero, alongside officials Tanya Clement and Archana Joshi.

The athletes will compete in various sports, including chess, alongside athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, futsal, swimming, and table tennis.

The National Sports Commission arranged travel and uniforms for the 140-member contingent, which met with the Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr. who encouraged the athletes to stay safe and enjoy their time in French Guiana.

The games aim to strengthen relationships among French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana, with Guyana set to host the IGG in 2025.

The contingent will arrive in Cayenne on October 22nd for the opening ceremony, with competitions concluding on October 26th.

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Jos Buttler’s return as England white-ball captain has been delayed by at least three more matches, after he was ruled out of next week’s ODI leg of their tour of the Caribbean due to his long-standing calf injury.

Buttler, 34, has been plagued by the injury for four months, and has not played a competitive match since England’s elimination from the T20 World Cup, with their semi-final defeat to India in Guyana in June.

He missed the entirety of Manchester Originals’ Hundred campaign, and then withdrew from the T20I and ODI series against Australia in September as well.

According to the ECB, he has now suffered a “slight setback” in his rehabilitation, and will consequently fly direct to Barbados ahead of the five-match T20I series, which begins on November 9.

In Buttler’s absence, Liam Livingstone has been named as England’s ODI captain. It will be his first opportunity in the role, with Harry Brook – Buttler’s stand-in in the ODIs against Australia – currently in Rawalpindi preparing for the third Test against Pakistan.

Michael Pepper, the Essex wicketkeeper-batter, has been added to the squad as cover, although the selectors had always intended to add two extra players to the tour, depending on the team selection for the third Test in Rawalpindi. Jordan Cox, England’s spare Test batter who made his white-ball debut against Australia, is one likely inclusion, as is the legspinner Rehan Ahmed.

Pepper has only played seven List A games but was third third-highest run-scorer in 2024 Vitality Blast and finished the season with Essex in good form, scoring his maiden first-class hundreds.

Buttler’s continued absence will raise speculation around his international future, despite the assurances from Brendon McCullum, England’s incoming white-ball coach, that he would remain front and centre of his plans, with McCullum pointedly saying that “he’s been a little bit miserable at times.”

“He’s an incredibly gifted player,” McCullum added at his unveiling. “He’s a fine leader. My job is to get the best out of him so that all those that sit in the dressing-room feel like they can be ten-feet tall and bulletproof when they walk out to play, and they know that the skipper is going to give them that extra pat on the back and and enjoy the ride with them.”

Buttler was a non-playing presence during the Australia series, with Marcus Trescothick, England’s interim white-ball coach who will be leading the Caribbean tour, insisting: “There’s no reason why Jos won’t fit back into that mould, score millions of runs, captain well and fit back into the team perfectly.”

“Let’s make it clear,” Trescothick said. “He will come straight back in. At what position, I don’t know. We’ll look at that for the Caribbean.” (ESPNcricinfo)

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The Tapas, Rum & Wine culinary experience, launched on Monday, will provide a platform for local chefs and mixologists to showcase their talent and culinary creativities.

Persons can expect expertly- crafted dishes fused with local ingredients and paired with exceptional wines and rums. The event is set to take place on October 27, 2024, at the Guyana Marriott Hotel.

Executive Member of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana, Malcom Rhodius during remarks said the event is more than a culinary experience.

“It is a reflection of our commitment to showcasing Guyana’s vibrant food and beverage as well as a strategic effort of our local tourism and hospitality industry,” Rhodius said.

He added that the local chefs and mixologists will also get the opportunity to network and build new partnerships with corporate businesses.

“This event is also designed to attract corporate entities giving them a chance to connect with the culinary talent that could potentially shape their events in the future.

“We are creating a platform where innovation meets tradition and where the best of Guyana’s flavours are celebrated,” Rhodius highlighted.

He hopes the event will play an integral role in further promoting Guyana as a world-class tourism destination in the culinary sector.

Rhodius is also confident that the event will leave a lasting impression on attendees.

A total of six local will showcase their skills at Tapas, Rum & Wine.

Selina Yhun, the sous chef at P.F. Chang’s Guyana who specialises in sushi said she will be using local ingredients in her dishes.

“I will be using local ingredients with a twist, I will also be using fruits on my sushi and in my sushi and it is all local,” Yhun said at the launch on Monday.

Another sushi chef, Dustin Dalgetty, the owner of Le Chef Catering, shared his excitement about the upcoming event.

“Being a part of this event, it’s something that I have been looking forward to and it is going to be something excited making it a landmark for the first time,” Dalgetty said.

Other chefs include, Chef Yax, owner of Taste of Africa and Chef de Partie at Nikkei Guyana; Head Chef at Bistro Café & Bar, Laquinda Jordan; Ruritanya Bhudu, Owner of Romeo Bravo Logistics and its catering entity, Gateau GY, and Jon Madhar, head chef at Ambrosia Restaurant located at the Leisure Inn Hotel in Berbice.

 

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To address overcrowding and provide a comfortable environment for learning, a new secondary-level facility will be built at Tabatinga in Region Nine (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo).

On Sunday, President Dr Irfaan Ali turned the sod to mark the beginning of the construction of the facility during a visit to the region.

The school, which will be constructed to the tune of $182 million is expected to be completed within the next eighteen months.

It will feature modern amenities which will integrate technology to make learning easier.

Upon completion, it will house 800 students, significantly easing the current overcrowding at the St. Ignatius Secondary School.

During his address, President Ali outlined that the government has been investing heavily to develop all of the sectors so that citizens can benefit from a future they only dreamed of.

To do this, he said focus is placed on ensuring that the development is linked to the economic transformation of the country.

“Development is multifaceted.

“If the healthcare system is not strong, you can’t support healthy children in the school system. If we don’t have healthy children in the school system, we can’t support students who will come out of the system to function in the healthcare system and others in the economy,” Dr Ali said.

Currently, numerous schools are being built across the country. This, Education Minister Priya Manickchand said has seen 2,500 students being accommodated in Region Nine alone.

“It means that before this 2500 students went without access to secondary school…and that is why five secondary schools are going up here in Region Nine. Those secondary schools will give us universal access to education here in Region Nine,” Manickchand said.

Equally important, she said efforts are being placed to ensure that there are trained teachers in every classroom.

To this end, Manickchand said between 2022 and 2024, 540 teachers graduated from Region 9.

“Our dream that is going to be realised before the end of next year is to ensure that every single teacher that stands in front of your children is either trained or being trained.

“Whatever your children deserve we will give it to them…whether it’s the highest valley or the lowest,” Manickchand said.

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In an effort to advance the level of health care provided, the sod was on Sunday turned to begin construction of a modern $6.5 billion Lethem Regional Hospital.

President Dr Irfaan Ali and Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony along with other officials participated in the ceremonial activity.

The project forms part of the US$97 million Inter-Development Bank (IDB) loan, aimed at strengthening the country’s health care system.

The state-of-the-art structure will be situated in the compound of the existing Lethem hospital.

It will feature 75 beds, a CT scan machine, two fully-operational operating theaters, a digital health control room, specialised outpatient clinics, two dialysis chairs, and an emergency room, among other amenities.

In his address to those gathered the ceremony, President Ali said the development of the hospital will not only benefit residents of the region but also the neighbouring countries, specifically Brazil from which persons already travel here for medical attention.

“It is quality of life and making meaningful changes for every single citizen.

“We are already thinking of Guyana 2030 and beyond. How we are going to make the right investment today to ensure that we live in one of the most beautiful, well-developed, advanced economy in the world,” Dr Ali said.

Since 2020, President Ali said the government has invested over $7 billion to develop health care in the region.

This, he said has resulted in a reduction in patient referral rates in both Georgetown and Boa Vista from more than 20 percent to below 2 percent in the region.

“In many developed countries in the world, they would never invest this quantum of resources for 33,000 people.

“We are already thinking…of Guyana 2030 and beyond…We have to think about the country that must win and win every day in a very competitive global environment,” Dr Ali said.

The vision, he said is for the Lethem Regional Hospital to be a teaching hospital, equipped to not only train local medical professionals but also persons across the region.

Upon completion, Dr Anthony said no resident will be required to travel to Georgetown because the medical care they need is unavailable in the region.

“A district hospital should function like a district hospital….one of the investments we have made is to ensure that we are equipped all these district hospitals.

“These things have been helping us to change how people see the quality of care in this region,” Dr Anthony said.

Reflecting on the strides made in advancing health care in the region, Dr Anthony noted that at the end of 2023 alone, more than 1,000 surgeries were conducted at the Lethem regional hospital. There has also been a decline in maternal mortality, a major issue in the region.

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Dominic Gaskin, former Alliance for Change (AFC) executive member and son-in-law of ex-President David Granger, has suggested the opposition parties would be unable to beat the PPP at next year’s general elections, particular because of their actions the last time around in trying to rig the 2020 elections.

“That’s my view, and it’s not with any malice. I don’t think they can recover from what happened in 2020,” Gaskin stated during an interview on the Freddie Kissoon television show.

Several high-ranking electoral officials, along with politicians in the former APNU government, are currently facing legal proceedings over their roles in attempting to alter the 2020 election outcome.

During that time, Gaskin, who served as Minister of Business, was one of the few members of the government who publicly denounced the actions of his own coalition, calling for the party to accept its defeat.

On the Freddie Kisson show, Gaskin delivered a scathing assessment of the opposition’s failure to accept the results of the 2020 elections, which saw the return of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) to power after a tense, protracted election process.

Gaskin expressed the belief that the opposition’s unwillingness to accept the will of the electorate in 2020 has already cost them the 2025 race.

“I think they lost the 2025 elections in advance.”

Gaskin, who is well known for his frank political observations, made clear his view that the opposition’s actions during the 2020 elections have weakened their standing with the public.

He argued that the party’s failure to respect the democratic process has eroded public trust, and as a result, the PPP is now in a commanding position to win the next election.

“The PPP will win the 2025 election simply because of what occurred in 2020,” Gaskin declared.

“They (the opposition) need to demonstrate to the public that they are prepared to recognise the will of the people at the next election. I am hoping that the current opposition is prepared to recognise it as the legitimate will of the people,” he added.

When questioned about the leadership of the AFC, Gaskin deflected the query, instead emphasising the broader question of the opposition’s readiness to engage in a fair electoral process.

“You can’t participate in that process and discredit it because you didn’t win.”

Nonetheless, Gaskin expressed confidence that the AFC could regain its former parliamentary strength, which it had prior to joining forces with the APNU in 2011 and forming a coalition government in 2015.

However, he predicted that the party’s future electoral gains would come at the expense of the APNU, rather than the PPP’s traditional base.

“Nigel [Hughes] will take more votes from APNU rather than from the PPP,” Gaskin added, referring to Nigel Hughes, leader of the AFC.

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Sri Lanka defeated the West Indies by five wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in the first ODI at Pallekele on Sunday, marking their third consecutive victory after winning the last two T20 Internationals to clinch the series 2-1.

Chasing a DLS-adjusted target of 232 in 37 overs, Sri Lanka’s pursuit was powered by a crucial 137-run partnership between Nishan Madushka and Charith Asalanka.

The pair’s half-centuries laid the foundation for Sri Lanka’s victory, which came with 31 balls to spare. Their century stand came in just 88 balls, as they took full advantage of the wayward West Indies bowling.

Madushka and Asalanka were ruthless in their approach, capitalizing on poor deliveries, with only Gudakesh Motie providing any resistance. Motie was the pick of the West Indies bowlers with 3-47, while Alzarri Joseph chipped in with 2-39.

However, their efforts were not enough to stifle Sri Lanka’s charge, as they raced to 200 in just 27.3 overs, making victory inevitable.

After Asalanka’s departure, Janith Liyanage and Kamindu Mendis put on an unbroken 47-run partnership to secure the win. Liyanage remained unbeaten on 18, while Mendis finished on 30 not out.

Sherfane Rutherford played his shots when he got the chance•Oct 20, 2024•Associated Press

Earlier in the day, the West Indies had been frustrated by rain, which halted their innings at 185 for 4 after 38.3 overs. Sherfane Rutherford had mounted a counter-attack, scoring an unbeaten 74, while Roston Chase contributed 33 not out in an 85-run fifth-wicket stand.

Their partnership came off 78 deliveries and provided a much-needed boost after Sri Lanka’s spinners had dominated the early proceedings.

Wanindu Hasaranga was the standout bowler for Sri Lanka, taking 2-18, while Jeffrey Vandersay and Charith Asalanka claimed a wicket apiece.

Despite the interruption caused by rain, Sri Lanka’s spinners laid the groundwork for a comfortable chase, leaving the West Indies unable to capitalize on the toss and their decision to bat first.

With this five-wicket win, Sri Lanka takes an early lead in the three-match ODI series, continuing their momentum from the T20s. (SportsMax)

 

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New Zealand were crowned surprise champions of the Women’s T20 World Cup with a comprehensive 32-run win over South Africa in Dubai.

The White Ferns had lost 10 successive matches coming into the tournament, and this is their first T20 title, after losing successive finals in 2009 and 2010.

They were on top at the halfway point, but the Proteas started strongly in pursuit of 159 for victory, reaching 51-0 inside seven overs before slipping to 77-5 and then stuttering to 126-9.

Leg-spinner Melie Kerr finished with 3-24, becoming the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, and seamer Rosemary Mair took 3-25 in an emotional occasion for a team with so little expectation of triumph.

Kerr also added a vital contribution with the bat, scoring 43 from 38 balls in a crucial partnership of 57 with Brooke Halliday to set up the White Ferns’ imposing 158-5.

In a fluctuating innings, New Zealand dominated the powerplay with 43-1 before South Africa fought back in the middle overs which included a spell of 48 balls without a boundary.

But Halliday’s 38 from 28 balls, alongside Maddy Green’s six-ball 12, ensured New Zealand struck 48 from the final five overs to punish an ultimately wasteful bowling performance from South Africa, who gifted 10 wides and three no-balls.

Captain Laura Wolvaardt scored a fluent 33 at the top of the order as South Africa also capitalised on the first six overs, reaching 47-0, before New Zealand’s spin trio turned the screw, including the prized wicket of all-rounder Marizanne Kapp for just eight.

The rest of the batting order then succumbed to the growing run-rate pressure as opener Tazmin Brits’ 17 was the second-highest score, with batters Anneke Bosch, Nadine de Klerk and Sune Luus all falling in single figures alongside Kapp.

It is the second year running that South Africa have lost the final as New Zealand put in a complete performance when it mattered the most which resulted in tears of joy for two of the sport’s most experienced campaigners in Suzie Bates and captain Sophie Devine.

In the first year that the International Cricket Council (ICC) introduced equal prize money for it’s men’s and women’s tournaments, New Zealand will take home $2.34 million (£1.75m) with South Africa taking $1.7m (£878,000). (BBC)

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