Category: CANA News

The Guyana Basketball Federation (GBF) has named a strong 12-member squad to take part in the FIBA Women’s Caribbean Championships, which bounces off here this week.

The Bahamas, Virgin Islands, Suriname, Jamaica and hosts Guyana, will compete in a round-robin format from November 12 to 16 to determine the winner of the tournament, which returns for the first time since 2022.

The top three teams will advance to the 2026 Centrobasket Women’s Championship.

Joy Adams (centre) will lead Guyana at the FIBA Women’s Caribbean Championships

Guyana will be boosted by the presence of Spain-based professional, Joy Adams, who represents Lointek Gernika Bizkaia in Spain’s top professional women’s league, Liga Femenina Endesa, and brings a wealth of experience and leadership to the national side.

The squad also features the talented Ramlall sisters- Amisha, Arshia, and Ashna- along with locally based players Jamaicy Ogle, Kean Andrews, Keisha Copperfield, Rehacia Romain, Breann Ritchie and Junelly Paddy.

Kenny Avent is the head coach and he will be assisted by Willon Cameron and Warren Wilson.

Following their opening match against The Bahamas on Wednesday, Guyana will face The Virgin Islands on Thursday, Suriname on Friday and will close the tournament with a highly anticipated showdown against Jamaica on Sunday.

President Irfaan Ali Monday gave an eight month deadline to fully digitise the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) as he outlined a number of initiatives to expedite the country’s National Digitalisation Programme.

Speaking at the launch of the Public Service Upskilling Platform, President Ali gave the Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, eight months to fully digitise the NIS.

He also gave the Minister of Public Service, Government Efficiency, and Implementation, Zulfikar Ally, five months to complete the digitisation of all public service records.

President Irfaan Ali speaking at the launch of the Public Service Upskilling Platform on Monday

Ally later said that this initiative will empower the Guyanese workforce to become more innovative and efficient.

‘We cannot implement complex national projects without world-class project managers. We cannot be responsive to citizens without first-rate customer service,’ he told the gathering, which included the intended beneficiaries. This programme is your new toolkit. It is our investment in you,’ he added.

The government said the conversion of these records, or their digitisation, is the process of converting analogue information into a digital form and is a necessary precursor to digitalisation, which refers to using digital technologies to improve or transform processes and activities.

President Ali said the goal for the government is to move swiftly to modernise the public sector and eliminate inefficiencies that frustrate citizens and hinder national progress.

‘I’ve given the Minister of Finance a direction.The Minister of Public Service knows that his entire human resource information system, the entire public service, within five months, all the records, your files, your personal files, everything, must be completely digitised within five months,’ President Ali told the launch.

He said that once digitised, the new integrated system will allow ministries to share information seamlessly, cross-reference skills across departments, and enhance the efficiency of public service delivery.

He told the event that digitalisation is more than just a convenience; it is central to Guyana’s transformation into a modern, high-performing economy.

In his address, President Ali also addressed the digital tools vital to the country’s agricultural sector, noting that within four months, farmers will have access to new technologies and platforms to enhance productivity.

‘Within four months, the farmers must be able to use the tool we’ve been investing in to access education in the field, to access real-time information in the field, to access weather in the fields, to access extension support in the field, and to access technology in the field.’

Ali said that digital transformation across sectors, including agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, and infrastructure, is designed to create a fully integrated digital economy, positioning Guyana as a regional leader in innovation and efficiency, adding that several homegrown apps will be launched in the coming weeks.

He said these apps were built to support public service delivery and national development priorities.

‘In the next three to four weeks, we will see a series of apps being launched that we are building ourselves, that we are trusting our young people, our brain power, our technical capability to drive this future,’ President Ali said.

In his wide ranging address, President Ali said that true leadership, at its core, is about identifying, cultivating, and empowering talent, saying ‘the worst of leaders are those who are afraid of talent.

‘If you’re afraid of talent, you’re not a leader. You’re an occupier of space,’ he said, adding that true leadership means empowering others to grow and develop, and warned that leaders who fear being surpassed not only limit themselves, but also stifle the progress of their teams

‘You must not be afraid of it because talent will prepare you to deal with any room that you go into.’

The Public Service Upskilling Platform provides access to 100 online courses from Coursera, a globally recognised online learning platform and the government said thousands of public servants, including those from the hinterland, will now have access to relevant online courses from leading universities worldwide, equipping them with the essential skills to drive Guyana’s transformation.

From data analysis to beginner Spanish, the US-based Coursera platform offers 100 online courses, which public servants can take advantage of and learn at their own pace for free.

‘The world is moving faster than ever before, so we must ask ourselves: are we ready to keep up?’ Ali questioned, noting that the public service must be retooled to deliver in the digital age.

He said the new public service must be a ‘problem-solving machine,’ driving results, productivity, and progress through innovation and efficiency.

Ali said that this can be achieved through the newly launched programme with Coursera, as top-performing nations such as the United States, Singapore, and Finland use the same platform to strengthen their public sector workforces.

‘You’re not just learning for a local job; you’re preparing for global opportunities. You’re ensuring that Guyana’s public service is not only efficient and responsive locally but also globally benchmarked-and that is important.’

Coursera’s Vice President, Zac Rule, who spoke at the launch, said that upskilling the human resource pool is necessary to the ambitious goal of a fully digitalised Guyana.

‘We are very honoured to be a part of that. We look forward to continuing our multi-year partnership with Guyana,’ he added.

President Jennifer Greelings-Simons has sought to clarify reports that the Suriname government has been holding talks with the Chinese multinational Chinalco, insisting that her administration is not holding discussions with Chinalco.

President Greelings-Simons, who returned here over the last weekend from Brazil, told reporters that she is aware of discussions between Vice President Gregory Rusland, and a delegation from the Chinese company last week regarding the bauxite sector.

President Jennifer Greelings-Simons, speaking at the news conference on her return from Brazil.

‘He said people had asked to talk, and he would listen. And I think he did. Chinalco requested a meeting with the vice president, and that happened,’ President Greelings-Simons told reporters.

A statement issued last week by the official Directorate for Public Communications (DVC) indicated that the cabinet will renegotiate with the Chinese company to reach a more favourable agreement for Suriname.

‘The Memorandum of understanding (MoU signed by the Santokhi/Brunswijk government with bauxite company Chinalco in November 2024 will be reevaluated. According to Acting President Gregory Rusland, the intention is for the new round of negotiations to result in an agreement that better aligns with Suriname’s national interests,’ according to the press release that had been issued by DVC under the heading ‘Government Re-Engages in Negotiations with Chinalco’.

The government statement said that the Chinalco’s plan involves mining bauxite in West Suriname and that the agreement in principle with the previous government signed in November last year included an investment of approximately US$426 million for the construction of a mine and associated infrastructure near Apoera.

Suriname would hold a 13 per cent stake and be represented in the management of the joint venture, the statement said.

However, the project’s implementation stalled after residents of Apoera and surrounding villages fiercely protested the agreement.

But President Greelings-Simons insists that the government has not held formal discussions with Chinalco.

‘We don’t refuse to talk to people; we talk to everyone,’ she said, adding ‘we have said, under no circumstances will we export bauxite’.

Rusland told the online publication, Starnieuws, that the President has been kept informed of all important matters, saying ‘I regularly contact the President for coordination, even when she is abroad’.

According to Rusland, he received a request to receive the Chinalco chief executive officer during the weekend of November 1 and that the Chinese official had arrived here on November 3 for a short visit.

Rusland said that he met with the Chinese official ‘and informed the president in advance,, adding that during the meeting he made it clear he disagreed with the agreement presented by the previous government.

‘It can never be the intention for Suriname to only export raw materials, as stated in the initial MOU. My position remains unchanged: raw materials must be processed here so that added value is created and Suriname benefits more.’

He said that any agreement must also consider the interests of local communities and the country’s environmental requirements.

‘The CEO indicated he wanted to discuss this. I indicated that the government will formulate its position,’ said Rusland, adding that he believes Suriname should remain open to discussions with legitimate investors, but only on the basis of clear conditions.

‘We must be mindful of international power dynamics, but at the same time, we must clearly define our own goals. We’re not chasing away serious investors, but they must contribute to sustainable development and local added value.’

President Greelings-Simons during the news conference, also addressed the perceived contradiction between forest conservation and the need for economic development, insisting that in keeping with the government’s policy direction, Suriname aims to maintain at least 90 per cent forest cover.

However, the soil also contains enormous mineral resources, so choices will have to be made.

‘We’re going to have to make choices, I’ve said that internationally as well. And if the international community wants us to have an easier time with those choices, they’ll have to compensate us for the forest, because then we can weigh up our options.’

She believes that Suriname’s oil reserves can help curb the pace of potential deforestation ‘because we expect that to generate revenue’.

However, President Greelings-Simons said that the drive for economic development also requires care ‘otherwise, you’ll have other problems’.

The Head of State also provided an update on the sale of carbon credits, saying ‘there has been a meeting with the German bank, and two potential buyers, Bayer and Siemens, have been identified.

‘This is the first step in the complex process of monetizing the credits,’ she added.

The body of a 63-year-old man, who was reported kidnapped and a TT$100,000 (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) ransom demanded for his release, has been found in Central Trinidad.

The Hunters Search and Rescue Team (HSRT), which had been part of the team searching for Vishnu Lalla, who had been reported as being abducted last Saturday, said his body had been found in Couva on Sunday night. Lalla is the brother of Krishna Lalla, the founder of Super Industrial Services, a general contracting and construction company offering services to the companies on the Point Lisas Industrial Estate.

‘We have some sad news, for the entire evening the Hunters Search and Rescue Team had been searching with the relatives.unfortunately we have to report the body was found in the Brechin Castle,’ the HSRT said in a post on its Facebook page.

Police had earlier reported that Lalla was attending to the family’s farm animals outside their home when, Jennifer Lalla, went to look for him, and observed her husband’s vehicle speeding away from the house.

Later, on Saturday night, she received a phone call from her husband’s phone number, and a male voice demanded a ransom of TT$100,000 by midnight for her husband’s safe return

The police said that officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit as well as other units of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) had been seeking to access closed-circuit television footage of the streets surrounding Lalla’s home.

Police said the victim’s vehicle was later found burned and taken to the Special Evidence Recovery Unit for forensic processing.

Dominica will take part in the CONCACAF Series for the first time in its history when the tournament kicks off this week in St Kitts.

Dominica has been placed in Group B alongside Belize, St Martin, Sint Maarten, and the host country, St Kitts. The CONCACAF Series provides matches for member nations that have already been eliminated from qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The Dominica Football Association (DFA) recently named a 23-member squad to participate in the tournament, which will kick off on November 13.

Coached by Ellington Sabin, the team features a mix of experienced players and four newcomers, including five based overseas.

Dominica will play its first game on Wednesday, against Saint Martin (French), and will be back in action on Saturday against Sint Maarten (Dutch).

SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Jerome Burkard, Donte Newton, Jaheem Cuffy.

Defenders: Eustace Marshall, Jaylan Jnoville, Marcus Bredas, Ethan Nichols, Nick Anthony, Lyan Edwards, Mosiah Bonney, Durelle Durand.

Midfielders: Savio Anselm, Nathan Newton, Jervanie Xavier, Briel Thomas, Malachai Bonney, Gylles Mitchel.

Forwards: Audel Laville, Travist Joseph, Javid George, Donte Warrington, Antawn Larocque, Troy Jules.

Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) says it is cracking down on persons who exploit the elderly and other vulnerable members of society after a man was sentenced to 14 months in jail after pleading guilty to 58 counts of obtaining money by fraudulent use of a bank card.

The TTPS did not name the man or the victim, but said that between November 2024 and April this year, the victim, an elderly woman, had securely maintained possession of her automated teller machine (ATM) card. However, in June this year, upon reviewing her bank account, she discovered that sums totalling TT$115,000 (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) were missing.

The police said upon visiting her bank, she was informed that the withdrawals had been made via ATM transactions. But the victim denied conducting or authorising any of the transactions, noting that she had never lost or misplaced her card.

She was later permitted to view surveillance footage of the transactions, during which she recognized the suspect, a man she had known for nearly 40 years and who was a frequent visitor to her home.

The police said as a result of their investigations the suspect was arrested in Arima, east of here.

‘The suspect was interviewed .and admitted to committing the offence,’ the police said, adding he was charged with 58 counts of obtaining money by fraudulent use of a bank card.

‘The accused later appeared before Master Lisa Singh-Phillip at the Arima Master’s Court, where he pleaded guilty to all charges. He was sentenced to 14 months’ hard labour on each count, with the sentences to run concurrently,’ the police said, urging members of the public to remain vigilant and to avoid engaging in criminal activities, particularly those that exploit the elderly and other vulnerable members of society.

Austin Jack Warner has cautioned Trinidad and Tobago not to underestimate Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz when they meet in their crucial CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier clash on Thursday.

Warner, a former FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF president, believes that Jamaica will still be a threat even as they continue to recover from the devastation left behind by Hurricane Melissa.

Former FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF president, Jack Warner

The two sides meet at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in a must-win game for T and T, who currently sit third in Group B on five points, behind leaders Jamaica on nine points and Curacao on eight points.

Warner, who also served as the president of the Caribbean Football Union, said T and T needed to be at their best if they were to have any chance of defeating Jamaica.

‘I would like to urge the players to be calm, to take the game as normal as possible and hope for the best.

‘Jamaica is a strong team and they must not believe at all that Jamaica is weak, not even because of Hurricane Melissa, should they feel so,’ Warner cautioned during an interview on Isports i95.5 FM recently.

‘So I urge them to take the game one step at a time, be very strong and I think that they can pull it off. If not that’s the end.’

When the two sides met on September 9 at the National Stadium in Jamaica in the first leg, the home side emerged victorious 2-0.

However, Warner said playing at home could sometimes be a double-edged sword.

‘It is always an advantage to play at home, but if they were playing away I think it might have been better, because the thousands of fans will be beating down upon them, and this could cause some upset in the team’s psyche.

‘On the other hand, I think a large crowd supporting them, urging them on can do wonders and that is what I hope will happen,’ Warner said.

The following is the CANANews and SPORTS Schedule for Monday, November 10, 2025.

GEORGETOWN – Extradition proceedings against businessman Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin Mohamed, and opposition legislator to the United States, have been adjourned to November 24.

GEORGETOWN – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) foreign ministers says they are ‘gravely alarmed’ at the escalating conflict, immense suffering, displacement, tragic loss of life, and dire humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

PARAMARIBO – President Jennifer Greelings-Simons has sought to clarify reports that the Suriname government has been holding talks with the Chinese multinational Chinalco, insisting that her administration is not holding discussions with Chinalco.

KINGSTOWN – Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says he sent EC$15,500 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) of his personal funds to St. Vincent and the Grenadines students in Jamaica following the passage of Hurricane Melissa late last month that left a trail of death and destruction.

SANTA MARTA – The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Monday released a new document examining the structural challenges that Latin America and the Caribbean region faces for moving towards more productive, sustainable and inclusive development.

SPORTS:

NELSON – West Indies will now have to fight to level their T20I series against New Zealand after the fourth match was rained out here on Sunday.

The Guyana government says it has injected more than GUY$7.2 billion (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) int the rice industry so far this year to cushion farmers against a decline in global prices, improve yields, and reduce production costs.

Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, speaking with rice farmers in Region Three over the last weekend, said the country is set to produce an estimated nine million bags of paddy for the second crop of 2025.

Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha

Mustapha told farmers that the target had been achieved through increased investment in new rice varieties and strong government support, reminding farmers that the government recently announced an initiative of a GUY$300 payment per bag of paddy sold, totalling GUY$2.7 billion, to offset lower earnings caused by a global surplus.

He said that this comes on top of previous fertiliser distributions and cash support programmes that brought total direct government contributions to over seven billion dollars for the year.

Mustapha said that Guyana’s national rice yield has increased from 5.4 tons per hectare before 2020 to between 6.5 and 6.8 tons, with the intention of reaching seven to eight tons per hectare in the future.

He said that the next major focus will be on reducing the cost of production, which he described as the biggest threat to long-term survival in a competitive global market.

In addition to subsidies and support measures, the government is advancing major infrastructural works to modernise the drainage and irrigation (D and I) network, including the construction of a Hope-like Canal in Region Three, rehabilitation of 63 sluices, and the installation of new pump stations to reduce flood risks.

‘We have a project that we call the CARes programme, that we are working now to rehabilitate 63 sluices, and you are in the first tranche, and your region will benefit from a number of those sluices.’

‘We want a modern DNI sector that you will not be flooded out when it rains heavily,’ Mustapha said, outlining also initiatives to diversify production through expanded coconut cultivation and ongoing discussions to secure new export markets in Mexico, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, alongside traditional buyers in Europe.

He said that the Ministry of Agriculture is moving to address high land rental fees, especially from absentee leaseholders, under reforms guided by the Rice Act to make land access more affordable for active farmers.

The Grenada government says weaker performances in taxes and domestic goods and services led to a decline in revenue collection during the month of July this year, despite the country recording almost EC$750 million(One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) during the first seven months of this year.

The Ministry of Finance said that revenue for July was EC$97.1 million, an estimated EC$3.3 million below the target.

‘This shortfall was primarily driven by weaker performance in taxes on domestic goods and services. Compared to July 2024, collections in July 2025 were EC$$162.9 million lower, reflecting the exceptional revenues received from the CCRIF payout and the CBI programme,’ according to the July 2025 fiscal report published by the ministry.

But it said despite the shortfall in July, total revenue collections for the period January to July this year amounted to EC$$749.2 million, which was EC$$20.8 million above target as compared with the total collections for the same period in 2024 which stood at EC$$988.6 million.

‘From January to July 2025, Grenada’s fiscal performance was largely in line with expectations, reflecting prudent fiscal management and a commitment to meeting budgetary targets,’ according to the ministry, noting that revenue received through grants amounted to EC$15.8 million in July.

‘Grant Inflows amounted to EC$15.8 million in July 2025-EC$9.7 million above target and EC$14 million higher than receipts in July 2024. Total income from Grants stood at EC$44 million at the end of July 2025. This was EC$8.3 million above projections and EC$30.5 million higher than receipts during the corresponding period of last year,’ according to the July 2025 fiscal report.

In the area of expenditure, the report states that Current Expenditure exceeded projections in July 2025 by EC$4.6 million, reaching EC$89.4 million, EC$$25.7 million higher than current spending in the corresponding period of last year.

‘Total Recurrent Expenditure stood at EC$$540.3 million for the period January to July 2025, EC$$56.4 million below programmed level. However this performance was $46.4 million more than the $493.9 million realized during the same period in 2024, driven primarily by higher transfers and subsidies related to pension payments and IMA(Immigration Migration Agency) expenses,’ said the report.

With regards to Capital expenditure, in July 2025 that amounted to EC$51.4 million, surpassing both the monthly target of EC$41.8 million and the July 2024 figure of EC$19.9 million.

‘For the period January to July 2025, capital expenditure amounted to EC$264 million, EC$29.3 million more than programmed level and EC$127 million more than actual spend in the same period in 2024, reflecting accelerated implementation of capital projects,’ the report noted.