Black Immigrant Daily News

Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls ticked off another easy victory at the Americas Netball World Cup Qualifiers by beating Grenada 74-48 on day four on Wednesday evening at the National Indoor Sports Centre.

It was the second game for the third-ranked Sunshine Girls on the day as earlier they whipped 30th-ranked Antigua 80-23.

Captain Jhaniele Fowler led the scoring for Jamaica against the 20th-ranked Grenadians with 50 goals from 53 attempts while Amanda Pinkey supported with 10 from 13.

Goal shooter Lotiysha Cato was the top scorer for Grenada with 44 goals from 51 attempts.

The Sunshine Girls, who have won five straight games, will next play St Lucia on Thursday at 6:15 pm.

Trinidad and Tobago, which are ranked 11th in the world, also recorded two victories on the day. Following a 60-21 victory over the Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago returned later to beat the USA 43-21 and qualified for the 2023 World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa.

The regional qualifying tournament is being used to determine the last two qualifiers for the World Cup.

Jamaica has already qualified based on rankings, so the next two highest-placed countries will be the ones to join them among the 16 teams competing in Cape Town.

With three sets of games remaining, Trinidad and Tobago are leading the table with a maximum of 12 points from six games, two ahead of Barbados and Jamaica, which are locked on 10 points each.

The top three are followed by Grenada (6), St Vincent and the Grenadines (4), the USA (4), and the Cayman Islands (2).

Day 4 results (Wednesday, October 19)

Morning sessionJamaica 80, Antigua 23Barbados 60 Grenada 38Trinidad and Tobago 60 Cayman Islands 21USA 40 St Lucia 36

Evening sessionJamaica 74 Grenada 48Trinidad and Tobago 43 USA 27The Cayman Islands 47 Antigua 42

Day 5 schedule (Thursday, October 20)6:15 pm – St Lucia vs Jamaica6:25 pm – St Vincent and the Grenadines vs Antigua8:15 pm – Trinidad and Tobago vs Barbados8:25 pm – USA vs the Cayman Islands

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Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill said the PPP/C Administration has invested substantially in the Maritime Sector since returning to office in August 2020.

His statement was in direct response to opposition Member of Parliament, Amanza Walton-Desir, who in a recent online statement, alleged that Guyana lacks Marine Spatial Planning, a situation that has caused Guyanese to suffer because of the unscheduled closure of the Demerara Harbour Bridge, due to a recent marine accident.

Addressing the claims by the MP, Minister Edghill said among investments made by the government was the certification and appointment of nine new pilots to conduct ships in the Georgetown pilotage district.

Additionally, five new inspectors of shipping were appointed to inspect and certify vessels operating in Guyana.

He said the maritime department is cognisant that more manpower is needed in the sector to meet the exponential growth. As such, it is finalising plans to train scores of young men and women as cadets as ship officers, pilots, inspectors, surveyors, marine communications officers, among other positions.

To safeguard national infrastructure, he explained that MARAD’s pilots are also now required to be on all seagoing vessels transiting the retractor span of the Demerara Harbour Bridge.

To accompany this growing demand for pilotage services, a total of $530 million was expended towards the acquisition of a new pilot boat – ML ABDULLAH.

“While port infrastructure is mainly privately driven, the Government of Guyana has rendered tremendous support, having recognised the importance of ensuring that our ports are resilient,” the minister said in his response.

Further, the government’s recognition of the demand for port facilities in Guyana and the strain placed on Port Georgetown has led to repeated declarations of its intention to develop a deep-water port in the Berbice River.

Concomitantly, MARAD and other regulatory agencies are currently processing several applications for the construction of port facilities, the minister noted.

Auxiliary to its plans to enhance the maritime sector, the central government allocated $117 million for the construction of 15 concrete beacons marking rocks in the upper reaches of the Essequibo River. The project is still underway, but so far, 11 beacons have been built.

He said MARAD has been constantly executing the Commonwealth Marine Economy Plan and is in constant contact with the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO), which has been lending support to Guyana.

Minister Edghill said it is no secret that the damage caused by the Motor Tanker Tradewind Passion on Saturday, October 8, inconvenienced the entire country. He explained that the government inherited a Demerara Harbour Bridge that was on the verge of collapse. Since assuming office in 2020, billions of dollars have been poured into the bridge to keep it afloat and operational.

He said the government is not ignorant of the importance and intricacies of the maritime sector. In fact, since taking office, it has made it its duty to transform the sector to ensure it is prepared to operate in a modern economy.

“It, therefore, cannot be said that issues surrounding the maritime space are not being addressed,” Minister Edghill said.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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