Black Immigrant Daily News

The Premier League postponed its upcoming round of matches as a mark of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, adding to the cancellation of high-profile golf, cricket and horse racing events across a mourning Britain on Friday.

England’s top-flight football clubs held a meeting on Friday and said they wanted to “pay tribute to Her Majesty’s long and unwavering service to our country.”

“This is a tremendously sad time for not just the nation but also for the millions of people around the world who admired her,” Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said, “and we join together with all those in mourning her passing.”

The English Football League — the three divisions below the Premier League — also called off their games scheduled for the weekend. The Women’s Super League was due to start its season this weekend but has canceled its games, too.

The British government said it was at the discretion of individual sporting organizations whether fixtures went ahead following the death of the queen on Thursday at the age of 96.

British sport essentially shut down on Friday, but many events were planning to be up and running again on Saturday.

The BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event on the European tour, was paused near the end of the first round Thursday following the announcement of the queen’s death — there were still 30 players out on the course — and there was no play Friday.

Play will resume Saturday, the tour said, for what will become a 54-hole event “with the intention to finish on Sunday as scheduled.”

“It is not possible to play the full 72 holes and finish on Monday as we cannot guarantee the staff, facilities or security of the venue on Monday due to the ongoing plans for the state funeral,” the tour said in a statement, adding that there will be a two-minute silence at 9.50 am local time Saturday.

The third and deciding test between England and South Africa will resume at the Oval in London on Saturday after the England and Wales Cricket Board decided there would be no play on Friday.

It will essentially be a three-day test — Day 1 on Thursday was washed out — and all players and coaches will wear black armbands, observing a minute’s silence followed by the national anthem — “God Save the King.”

It wasn’t possible to add an extra day to the test match because the touring South Africans are flying home on Tuesday before heading to India and Australia.

Other events called off included cycling’s Tour of Britain, which also canceled the final two stages of the race scheduled for the weekend, and the third day of horse racing’s St. Leger festival in Doncaster. The St. Leger, one of British racing’s classics, will now take place on Sunday, organizers said Friday.

Horse racing was the queen’s favourite sport.

While Friday’s matches in England’s top rugby division were cancelled, those scheduled for Saturday and Sunday will go ahead as planned.

Football matches in the English Football League and in the Scottish lower league scheduled for Friday had already been postponed while matches scheduled to be played in Northern Ireland over the weekend were also canceled.

The Premier League said further updates regarding its fixtures during the period of mourning, which has begun in Britain, will be provided “in due course.”

Organizations are having to weigh up factors such as whether holding matches would use up police resources, the desire of broadcasters and the mood of the public.

There is little room in the schedule of this World Cup-affected season to fit in postponed fixtures.

The government said sporting organizations “might wish to consider canceling or postponing events or closing venues on the day of the State Funeral.”

That date of the funeral has not been set.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

General Accident Insurance Company has launched a new eco-drive policy for electric and hybrid vehicle owners.

With custom duty fees on electric vehicles slashed by a further 20 per cent, General Accident Managing Director, Sharon Donaldson, acknowledges that there are more incentives to use an electric vehicle in Jamaica than ever before.

“Electric and hybrid vehicles are known to emit less pollutants into the atmosphere, so by switching to an electric or hybrid vehicle these drivers contribute to reducing air pollution. General Accident’s eco-drive policy slogan ‘a greener driver deserves a greener commitment’ is a charge the General Accident staff accepts to provide the best insurance policy for drivers contributing to a healthy society,” Donaldson explained.

In keeping with the needs of hybrid and electric vehicle owners, the eco-drive policy includes unique benefits such as charging accessories coverage and free 24/7 breakdown coverage in the event that you run out of charge or need on-the-road assistance.

And in the event of an accident where a driver is entitled to a replacement vehicle, the replacement vehicle hire will be upgraded to an electric vehicle or hybrid.

To qualify for access to the eco drive policy, drivers must own an electric or hybrid vehicle, be between the ages of 21 and70 years old, have had their licence in excess of a year, and their vehicle must be for personal use only.

General Accident Insurance Company continues to support national development by encouraging healthy lifestyles and environmental protection through its continued contribution to the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET).

A portion of all eco-drive policy premiums will be donated to JET.

“Protecting and preserving our environment is extremely important. We believe responsible stewardship of natural resources and pollution reduction will only result in a safe and healthy environment for our valued customers to live, work, and raise families,” Donaldson said.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Full statement:

As part of continuous engagements with contractors, sub-contractors and other stakeholders operating in Guyana’s oil and gas sector, the Ministry of Natural Resources through the Local Content Secretariat has advanced discussions on key local content matters – namely, protracted payment periods and building suppliers’ capacities.

One may recall that in the Local Content Act, it is required that the contractors and sub-contractors’ Procurement Sub-Plan include a supply chain management strategy. This strategy should promote local suppliers’ competitive financing and growth with appropriate contract and payment terms. This provision was created to ensure that Guyanese nationals and Guyanese companies generate capital to expand while becoming competitive and financially independent.

This unit had reported that the Government and the private sector were examining a thirty-day payment period for Guyanese and Guyanese businesses which supply goods and services to the nation’s petroleum sector. Upon further assessments and engagements, the Secretariat wrote to contractors and sub-contractors instructing them to implement an amendment to their five-year Local Content Master Plan.

The updated five-year plan must now include a payment period of between 30-45 days upon the correct receipt of an invoice. This will allow Guyanese companies timely and appropriate access to contract and payment terms that facilitate competitive funding and expansion. Contractors and sub-contractors have shown their willingness to cooperate with this new requirement and have already moved to make the amendment to their Master Plans.

Suppliers must know that the onus is now on them to submit correct invoices. To see that this is achieved, the Secretariat continues to encourage contractors and sub-contractors to conduct continuous training and suppliers’ engagement forums. These forums will be aimed at upskilling suppliers in areas of the correct preparation of invoices and tenders, and to be appraised of any upcoming procurement opportunities offered by the companies.

Suppliers who continue to encounter issues with the prolonged issuing of payments are asked to contact the Local Content Secretariat or utilize the Grievance Redress Form via this link: https://petroleum.gov.gy/grievance-redress.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

El senador popular del distrito de Ponce, Ramón Ruiz Nieves, advirtió sobre la preocupación de las comunidades en Juana Díaz por una planta de gas natural para generar energía eléctrica, de la cual es dueña la empresa CooperVision, puesto que no consultaron con la comunidad la construcción de dicha planta, aparte de que tampoco cuenta con los endosos ni del ejecutivo municipal, ni del Cuerpo de Bomberos, entidad a la que se le negó una visita a la estructura.

La denuncia gira en torno a que, aunque la construcción -que ya está adelantada en un 85 por ciento- se da en las instalaciones de la empresas, no toman en cuenta que en el área hay cuatro escuelas aledañas, residenciales, urbanizaciones, parques y centros hospitalarios a quienes no se les ha incluido en un plan de emergencia ni se les ha orientado.

El legislador explicó que el Reglamento Conjunto para la Evaluación y Expedición de Permisos tiene un trámite ministerial y otro discrecional, que no se han cumplido.

“En el discrecional, hay que hacer un proceso de vistas públicas, llevarlo a la comunidad, presentarlo a la comunidad… Y, en el ministerial, lo que establece es una publicación de un edicto o un rótulo”, indicó el también presidente de la Comisión de Gobierno en el Senado.

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Ruiz Nieves destacó que busca conocer, dentro de otros elementos, de dónde surgieron los permisos para la extracción de agua en la zona y pidió que se esclarezca toda la transacción en cuanto a permisos y endosos, incluido el hecho de que la gerencia de CooperVision presente un plan de seguridad y salud al municipio y a las comunidades.

Por su parte, el alcalde del municipio, Ramón Hernández Torres, advirtió que el gerente general de CooperVision no quiso acudir a una vista pública en la legislatura municipal para explicar qué implica el proyecto para las comunidades.

“Tuvo la oportunidad de comparecer a nuestra legislatura municipal para explicarle al pleno de la legislatura todo el procedimiento que tiene que ver y los planes de seguridad, cosa que rechazó y está en récord […] Le enviamos un itinerario para visitar, en conjunto, las comunidades para orientarlos sobre ese proceso”, reclamó el alcalde.

Tanto el senador como el alcalde reiteraron que no están en contra del desarrollo de la compañía y sus funciones, sino que exigen que se cumpla tanto con el protocolo de salud como el de seguridad. Inclusive, Hernández Torres aclaró que no acudirá a los tribunales para manejar el asunto, pero sí aspira a reunirse con la gerencia de la empresa.

“Si el proyecto es bueno, si el proyecto es positivo, pues, como yo le he reiterado en varias ocasiones al gerente general, vamos a salir a las comunidades, vamos a hablarles del plan de seguridad, vamos a hablarles del plan de desalojo”, expresó el alcalde.

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